Police Commission - January 20, 2021 - Minutes

Meeting Date: 
January 20, 2021 - 5:30pm
Location: 

The Police Commission of the City and County of San Francisco met via videoconference at 5:40 p.m.

                PRESENT:             Commissioners Cohen, Elias, DeJesus, Hamasaki, Brookter

GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

                Unidentified, Wealth & Disparities in Black Community, spoke of the Boards’ delay to the DOJ process and asked what role SFPD played in crafting this resolution causing further delays on the reforms.

                Starchild spoke of SFPD when a person is detained should be sent a copy of the incident report automatically and spoke of the Institute for Justice and spoke of policing for profit.

                Ms. Paulette Brown spoke of her son Aubrey Abrakasa who was a victim of a homicide and that his case is still open and that she is still getting posters out there of homicide victims whose case are still open and outstanding.

                Barry Toronto, taxi driver, spoke of not having a lot of business because restaurants and bars are still closed.  He spoke of a cab stand on Castro and 18th and spoke of two officers who treated him badly and stated that they threatened to give him a traffic citation.  He spoke of calling DPA but is not getting a call back from DPA.

                Susan Busman, Wealth & Disparities in the Black Communities, spoke of Supervisor Safai’s resolution and that it shows a real cluelessness in what is happening in the city.

                Ben Paul, Wealth & Disparities in the Black Communities, demanded that Supervisor Safai’s rescind his resolution that slows down the Department’s reform.               

ADOPTION OF MINUTES

  • For the meeting of January 6, 2021

    Motion by Commissioner Cohen, second by Commissioner DeJesus as amended.  Approved 5-0.

    REPORTS TO THE COMMISSION

    Chief’s Request

    -              Weekly crime trends

    -              Major/Significant Incidents                

                    Chief Scott reported on crime trends:  Part 1 crime:  Property crimes up 9 percent; burglaries up 46 percent; motor vehicle thefts is up 12 percent; arson up 82 percent; auto burglaries down 54 percent; violent crimes down 9 percent; homicides two for the year; gun violence is up with 19 gun violence victims.  The Chief talked about a murder-suicide incident where a father and son both were killed.    Another incident related to a stunt driving incident in the Ingleside District where three people were shot, one fatal.  A 17-year-old was arrested in Sacramento and is being prosecuted in Sacramento.  There were seven shooting incidents this week resulting in 11 victims of gun violence.  The Chief also talked about one serious traffic incident that occurred on 24th and Potrero where an 82-year-old pedestrian was struck by a vehicle near a crosswalk.  The driver remained at the scene and the pedestrian was transported with life-threatening injuries.

                    Commissioner Brookter asked about arson.

                    Commissioner Hamasaki asked about the prosecution out of county for a crime that occurred in San Francisco.  He asked why the case is filed in Sacramento when it is a San Francisco case.  The Chief explained that there was a connection with the attempted murder in Sacramento and that there was consultation with the district attorney to have the Sacramento district attorney file everything in Sacramento.  Commissioner Hamasaki then asked about asset forfeiture.  The Chief explained that the Department does not have an asset forfeiture policy because the department does not take money in and deposit that money into city department’s accounts, that is the role of federal authorities.

                    Commissioner Elias asked that a discussion be agendized regarding referring a case for prosecution to another jurisdiction when the crime occurred in the San Francisco.

                    Commissioner Cohen asked the Chief to report back to the Commission the moment the USDOJ comes back into the Collaborative Reform Initiative.  She also asked to incorporate into his Chief’s Report a section about domestic terrorism.

    DPA Director’s Report

    -              Report on recent DPA activities, and announcements               

                    Director Henderson gave an update on year-to-date stats: 23 cases opened cases and closed 31 cases year to date; 347 pending cases; 2 cases sustained; 35 cases past 270 days; 0 cases mediated; 38 cases pending with the Chief; 14 cases pending with the Commission.  Outreach:  Hosted a virtual panel discussion for community organizations.

                   Commission Reports

    -              Commission President’s Report

    -              Commissioners’ Reports

    -              Commission announcements and scheduling of items identified for consideration at future Commission Meetings.

                    Commissioner Hamasaki spoke of attending, along with Commissioners Elias and Brookter, a preview presentation for the Center of Policing Equity and spoke of an MOU with CPE and the Department.

                    Commissioner Brookter spoke meeting with the working group regarding DGO 7.01 and spoke of getting the meetings back on calendar with DPA as a liaison.

                    Commissioner DeJesus spoke of meeting with the Chief and Commissioner Brookter regarding the Awards DGO and awards recommendations to go through the recommendations and the policy.

                    Commissioner Cohen asked if any review has been conducted regarding SFPD Tenderloin twitter account and Congresswoman Boebert.   Chief Scott stated that it is being reviewed.

                    Commissioner Cohen asked if the Department is still investigating if there were SFPD personnel involved in the insurrection in Washington.  Chief Scott stated that there is no indicating that any SFPD personnel were involved in any of the Washington activities.  The Chief stated that the Department’s Federal partners have advised him that there was no indication of any SFPD personnel were involved in what happened in DC.

                    Commissioner Hamasaki spoke of what LAPD and other jurisdictions have been doing is affirmatively asking department members if they were in Washington DC and asked the Chief if that can be implemented.

    PUBLIC COMMENT:

                    Unidentified spoke of why the Department is notifying FBI about peaceful demonstrations when there’s other incidents like drug dealing and car broken into that are happening in the city and why SFPD is involved in an investigation about Congresswoman Boebert.  She stated that it seems like a lot of work for the Department when people’s houses are being broken into in broad daylight.  She stated that the department should focus on its priorities.

                    Ms. Paulette Brown spoke of her son’s homicide case #060862038 and if anybody knows anything about her son’s case to please call in.  She went on to read the names of perpetrators who killed her son.

                    Starchild thanked Commissioner Hamasaki for following up regarding asset forfeiture and spoke of the procedure regarding asset forfeiture.               

    PRESENTATION OF THE SFPD AUDIT OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNCATION DEVICES FOR BIAS, 4TH QUARTER 2020

                    Commander Rob O’Sullivan presented the 4th Quarter 2020 Audit of Electronic Communication Devices.

    PUBLIC COMMENT

                    Brian Cox spoke of the audit and asked why does SFPD continue to invest in these tasks when it does not provide any meaningful way to probe for bias.  He suggested reviewing officers’ social media platforms or alternative methods to identify bias.

                    Starchild spoke that this seems to be a waste of time and to look at media profiles instead and asked about audits in the use of stingray devices as surveillance tactics and if there is any accountability in using it.

    PRESENTATION OF THE SFPD FDRB FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS & OIS INVESTIGATIVE SUMMARIES, 4TH QUARTER 2020

                    Deputy Chief Greg Yee presented the FDRB Findings & Recommendations, 4th Quarter 2020 report.   

    PUBLIC COMMENT

                    None

    PRESENTATION OF THE SFPD FAMILY CODE 6228 QUARTERLY REPORT, 4TH QUARTER 2020

                    A/Captain David Falzon presented the Family Code, 4th Quarter 2020 report         

    PUBLIC COMMENT

                    None

    PUBLIC COMMENT ON ALL MATTERS PERTAINING TO CLOSED SESSION

                    None                   

    VOTE ON WHETHER TO HOLD CLOSED SESSION

                    Motion by Commissioner Hamasaki, second by Commissioner Elias, to go into Closed Session.  Approved 5-0.               

    CLOSED SESSION (7:11 p.m. – 7:13 p.m.)

    PERSONNEL EXCEPTION.  Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957(b)(1) and San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.10(b) and Penal Code Section 832.7:

    Status and calendaring of pending disciplinary cases and reassignment of the following disciplinary cases:

  • DPA 44025-19

  • DPA 0164-16

     (Present:  Commissioners Cohen, Elias, DeJesus, Hamasaki, Brookter, Chief Scott, Sergeant Youngblood, Sergeant Reynolds, Risa Tom)

    OPEN SESSION (7:13 p.m.)

    VOTE TO ELECT WHETHER TO DISCLOSE ANY OR ALL DISCUSSIONS HELD IN CLOSED SESSION

                    Motion by Commissioner Elias, second by Commissioner Brookter for non-disclosure.  Approved 5-0.

    PUBLIC COMMENT

                    None

    ADJOURNMENT

                    Thereafter, the meeting was adjourned at 7:14 p.m.