Police Commission

SFPD releases quarterly shooting probes to Police Commission

San Francisco Police Department

At last week’s meeting of the San Francisco Police Commission, an important presentation on SFPD’s investigations of officer-involved shootings was lost amidst the furor around Patrol Specials, the controversial quasi-public, quasi-private security guards licensed by SFPD. The SFPD’s Firearms Discharge Review Board, which reviews all police shootings and weapons discharges that take place in San Francisco, reported to the commissioners on its inquiries through the First Quarter of 2011. Their findings are summarized in an informational report that has a number of interesting items.

Seven investigations of police shootings involving SFPD officers have been completed as of the end of March. Since January 2008, 38 investigations have been concluded, or had “summary letters” of the incident written by the FDRB.

As a side note, see our story from earlier this year about District Attorney George Gascón’s decision to withhold the DA’s findings letters on officer-involved shooting from the public.

Eight shootings that took place between August 2010 and January 2011 remain open pending the outcome of investigations by SFPD’s Homicide and Internal Affairs Divisions, as well as the District Attorney. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Police, Officer-involved shootings, Police Commission, San Francisco, San Francisco Police Department

February 10, 2011 | 5:31 PM | By Ali Winston

SFPD to overhaul policies for dealing with mentally ill

San Francisco Police Department

Alarmed at recent police shootings of mentally ill people over the past few months, the San Francisco Police Commission voted last night to overhaul the police department’s crisis response training. A resolution written by Commissioner Angela Chan and approved unanimously by her peers will direct SFPD to create a crisis-intervention team along the lines of a program the Memphis Police Department implemented in the 1980s.

The Crisis Intervention Team training, as developed in Memphis, is composed of officers who volunteer for the assignment, which is in addition to their regular patrol duties. CIT officers are selected for their experience and their ability to use non-confrontational and de-escalation techniques. Officers in MPD’s Crisis Team go through forty hours of intensive training for the assignment.

A majority of SFPD officers have gone through similar mental health training that was initiated in 2001, but fell victim to budget cuts last year. During the hearing, mental health workers and advocates spoke of other past training programs that also withered due to fiscal difficulties.

Commission President Thomas Mazucco said revising San Francisco’s policing strategy towards the mentally ill was a must, considering the size of San Francisco’s homeless population and budget cuts to health services that assist such people.

“We ignore them, they’re invisible people, and our police officers have to deal with them when they go off,” Mazucco said.

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FILED UNDER: Police, Crisis Intervention Team, Police Commission, San Francisco, San Francisco Police Department

August 19, 2010 | 2:32 PM | By Rina Palta

Poetry at the Police Commission: pets, parties, and power

Last night’s meeting of the Police Commission yielded some memorable quotes on matters near and dear to San Francisco hearts:

Officer Sherry Hicks

“Some people say I’ve gone to the dogs. But I’m proud and I couldn’t be happier.”

-SFPD Officer Sherry Hicks

Uproar followed an abrupt announcement in late July that Sergeant Bill Herndon, head of the San Francisco Police Department’s vicious and dangerous dogs unit had been reassigned to patrol duty at Park Station. Herndon is well loved in the dog community for his patience, fairness, and openness in adjudicating matters of misbehaving canines.

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FILED UNDER: Police, Animals, Chief Gascon, Nightlife, Police Commission, San Francisco Forensic Lab

July 15, 2010 | 5:13 PM | By Rina Palta

SF drags its feet into Secure Communities

The first peek at how the federal Secure Communities initiative will impact San Francisco came at Wednesday night’s Police Commission meeting.

Secure Communities is a program that sends fingerprints from local jails to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to see if those arrested are subject to deportation. It was created in 2008, and states and counties have been trickling into the program since. But San Francisco held out. Sheriff Michael Hennessey originally tried to avoid entering the program, citing its conflict with San Francisco’s status as a sanctuary city for undocumented immigrants. But Attorney General Jerry Brown told the Sheriff that individual counties don’t have a choice: California signed up for the program, and San Francisco will have to participate.

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