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Strong feelings at police hearing
The San Francisco Police Commission and the city's independent police watchdog agency were similarly praised and denounced Wednesday night as the commission formally accepted disciplinary charges against three officers involved in the fatal shooting of suspect Cammerin Boyd.
SAN FRANCISCO
Strong feelings at police hearing
Charges against 3 officers in shooting formally accepted
Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Cammerin Boyd was shot twice by police on May 5, 2004, af...
The San Francisco Police Commission and the city's independent police watchdog agency were similarly praised and denounced Wednesday night as the commission formally accepted disciplinary charges against three officers involved in the fatal shooting of suspect Cammerin Boyd.
Neither Chief Heather Fong nor Office of Citizen Complaints Director Kevin Allen made comments about the charges, but reaction from the large crowd at the meeting was heated.
Gary Delagnes, president of the police union, verbally lashed out at Commissioner Peter Keane during the meeting, calling him a shameless grandstander. He said the charges against the officers were based on technicalities in police procedure, noting that the officers were not facing discipline for anything that happened at the actual scene of the fatal shooting.
Malaika Parker, of Bay Area Police Watch, meanwhile, praised the commission and the Office of Citizen Complaints for their handling of the Boyd case, which now awaits a full hearing before the commission.
If the charges are upheld by the commission, the officers could lose their jobs.
"This is an amazing day," Parker said. "It's an amazing day for the people who have dealt with the Police Commission and the San Francisco Police Department over the last 10 years. It's a day that signals the (Police Department) is changing."
The crowd of about 70 that came to the meeting was split between plainclothes officers and their supporters and family, and friends and supporters of people killed in police shootings. Applause erupted from half the room after those on each side spoke.
"I believe morale in the Police Department is at an all-time low," said Sgt. Lea Militello. "When are the police officers in San Francisco going to hear an encouraging word out of this commission? ... We hope to see more support for the men and women who put their lives on the line for this city every day."
The Office of Citizen Complaints filed charges May 5 against three officers involved in the shooting of Boyd, 29. Two officers, Timothy Paine, 38, and James O'Malley, 35, are accused of improperly firing their weapons. Both are 10-year veterans of the department.
A third officer, Owen Sweeney III, 56, was charged with violating the department's policy on pursuits.
The charges all stem from the incident, but none has to do with the actual fatal shot that killed Boyd.
Wednesday's commission meeting was the first since the charges were filed.
After the meeting, Delagnes said the attorneys for the officers' union were exploring whether they could sue to stop the disciplinary proceedings and said to expect outrage by officers on the force if the charges ultimately were sustained.
"If anyone is disciplined in this case, you might as well close up the police stations -- shut them down, because that will be the end," he said. Delagnes said the association would wait to see how the commission ruled before planning any action in response.
The accused officers could face suspension or firing following a hearing by the Police Commission on the incident. The district attorney's office already has ruled that the officers committed no crimes during the incident, and a Police Department investigation is continuing.
Boyd was shot twice by police on May 5, 2004, after a car chase that ended in the Western Addition. Boyd was a suspect in an attempted kidnapping, and police say he fired a gun at them during the chase.
The chase ended on Larch Way outside the Plaza East public housing project, and police fired several shots at Boyd believing that Boyd's car was moving and that he was attempting to leave.
The officers all missed, and Boyd exited his vehicle at their instruction. Then, an officer who believed Boyd was reaching for a gun fired and hit Boyd twice, killing him. A gun was found in the driver's side pocket of the vehicle.
The officer who fired the fatal shot has not been identified.
Eyewitnesses at the scene said Boyd had his hands in the air when he was killed. The district attorney's investigation concluded that he might have had at least one hand by his side.
Allen, the director of the Office of Citizen Complaints, stepped outside the standard protocol for charging an officer with breaking department rules by bypassing a 60-day waiting period that allows Fong to decide whether to file charges based on the office's investigation.
Waiting the 60 days would have exceeded the one-year period in which the office has to file charges in an incident. There are exceptions to that limit, but Allen has said he did not want the case to be dismissed on technical grounds.
Keane and fellow Commissioner Joe Marshall told Allen that they believed he was correct to file the charges and that they believed his action would withstand legal scrutiny.
Boyd's mother praised the action by Allen and the commission.
"This is the first step in the right direction for us and other families, " Marylon Boyd said. "We want the process to work because we want it to work for everyone. ... When an officer's conduct is wrong, it's wrong."
E-mail Wyatt Buchanan at wbuchanan [at] sfchronicle.com.
Page B - 4
Strong feelings at police hearing
Charges against 3 officers in shooting formally accepted
Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Cammerin Boyd was shot twice by police on May 5, 2004, af...
The San Francisco Police Commission and the city's independent police watchdog agency were similarly praised and denounced Wednesday night as the commission formally accepted disciplinary charges against three officers involved in the fatal shooting of suspect Cammerin Boyd.
Neither Chief Heather Fong nor Office of Citizen Complaints Director Kevin Allen made comments about the charges, but reaction from the large crowd at the meeting was heated.
Gary Delagnes, president of the police union, verbally lashed out at Commissioner Peter Keane during the meeting, calling him a shameless grandstander. He said the charges against the officers were based on technicalities in police procedure, noting that the officers were not facing discipline for anything that happened at the actual scene of the fatal shooting.
Malaika Parker, of Bay Area Police Watch, meanwhile, praised the commission and the Office of Citizen Complaints for their handling of the Boyd case, which now awaits a full hearing before the commission.
If the charges are upheld by the commission, the officers could lose their jobs.
"This is an amazing day," Parker said. "It's an amazing day for the people who have dealt with the Police Commission and the San Francisco Police Department over the last 10 years. It's a day that signals the (Police Department) is changing."
The crowd of about 70 that came to the meeting was split between plainclothes officers and their supporters and family, and friends and supporters of people killed in police shootings. Applause erupted from half the room after those on each side spoke.
"I believe morale in the Police Department is at an all-time low," said Sgt. Lea Militello. "When are the police officers in San Francisco going to hear an encouraging word out of this commission? ... We hope to see more support for the men and women who put their lives on the line for this city every day."
The Office of Citizen Complaints filed charges May 5 against three officers involved in the shooting of Boyd, 29. Two officers, Timothy Paine, 38, and James O'Malley, 35, are accused of improperly firing their weapons. Both are 10-year veterans of the department.
A third officer, Owen Sweeney III, 56, was charged with violating the department's policy on pursuits.
The charges all stem from the incident, but none has to do with the actual fatal shot that killed Boyd.
Wednesday's commission meeting was the first since the charges were filed.
After the meeting, Delagnes said the attorneys for the officers' union were exploring whether they could sue to stop the disciplinary proceedings and said to expect outrage by officers on the force if the charges ultimately were sustained.
"If anyone is disciplined in this case, you might as well close up the police stations -- shut them down, because that will be the end," he said. Delagnes said the association would wait to see how the commission ruled before planning any action in response.
The accused officers could face suspension or firing following a hearing by the Police Commission on the incident. The district attorney's office already has ruled that the officers committed no crimes during the incident, and a Police Department investigation is continuing.
Boyd was shot twice by police on May 5, 2004, after a car chase that ended in the Western Addition. Boyd was a suspect in an attempted kidnapping, and police say he fired a gun at them during the chase.
The chase ended on Larch Way outside the Plaza East public housing project, and police fired several shots at Boyd believing that Boyd's car was moving and that he was attempting to leave.
The officers all missed, and Boyd exited his vehicle at their instruction. Then, an officer who believed Boyd was reaching for a gun fired and hit Boyd twice, killing him. A gun was found in the driver's side pocket of the vehicle.
The officer who fired the fatal shot has not been identified.
Eyewitnesses at the scene said Boyd had his hands in the air when he was killed. The district attorney's investigation concluded that he might have had at least one hand by his side.
Allen, the director of the Office of Citizen Complaints, stepped outside the standard protocol for charging an officer with breaking department rules by bypassing a 60-day waiting period that allows Fong to decide whether to file charges based on the office's investigation.
Waiting the 60 days would have exceeded the one-year period in which the office has to file charges in an incident. There are exceptions to that limit, but Allen has said he did not want the case to be dismissed on technical grounds.
Keane and fellow Commissioner Joe Marshall told Allen that they believed he was correct to file the charges and that they believed his action would withstand legal scrutiny.
Boyd's mother praised the action by Allen and the commission.
"This is the first step in the right direction for us and other families, " Marylon Boyd said. "We want the process to work because we want it to work for everyone. ... When an officer's conduct is wrong, it's wrong."
E-mail Wyatt Buchanan at wbuchanan [at] sfchronicle.com.
Page B - 4
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IMC Network
05/12/05 12:10 PDT
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)
The San Francisco Police Commission formally accepted charges Wednesday night against police officers allegedly involved in the shooting death of Cammerin Boyd.
Boyd, 29, of Oakland, was shot May 5, 2004 in the Western Addition after a chase by police who suspected him of threatening to kidnap a woman at gunpoint.
The officers involved said Boyd had fired at them during the pursuit and appeared to be reaching under his seat when he was shot.
Some witnesses have said Boyd appeared to be trying to surrender. An autopsy report released in September showed that Boyd might have had his hands up when he was shot, but the report did not reach a conclusion.
Four officers are charged in connection with the incident but none of the charges has to do with the shot that killed Boyd.
Officers James O'Malley and Timothy Paine face charges of unnecessary force and neglect of duty for allegedly unjustifiably shooting at Boyd in his vehicle during the pursuit, according to the charges filed by Kevin Allen, the director of the Office of Citizen Complaints.
While driving, Paine fired one shot at a Chevrolet Blazer Boyd was driving, which according to the charges is an "ineffective'' attempt to "disable a moving vehicle in order to make an arrest of the driver,'' the charges state. The shot also presented "unreasonable danger'' to the suspect, other officers involved in the pursuit and innocent bystanders, according to the charges.
O'Malley later fired at Boyd from outside of his car, while taking cover behind another car, because he said he believed Boyd's sport utility vehicle was moving and he was afraid Boyd would get away, according to the charges.
Upon hearing O'Malley's gunshots, other officers at the scene started firing at Boyd, according to the charges.
Boyd was not struck by gunfire until he got out of the SUV at the officers' instructions.
After he fell down, Officer Ferdinand Dimapasoc moved to handcuff Boyd, allegedly "pointing a shotgun at civilians'' who were watching from nearby buildings and ordering them to get away from their windows, the charges say. The charges say Dimapasoc unjustifiably brandished his firearm.
The three officers, as well as Officer Owen Sweeney, also face neglect of duty charges for allegedly failing to follow vehicle pursuit procedures, according to the charges.
The San Francisco district attorney's office recently announced it would not be filing criminal charges against the officers involved and concluded they acted in self-defense.
The Office of Citizen Complaints filed its charges one week ago. They were assigned Wednesday to the entire police commission. Commissioner Doug Chan will handle preliminary matters in the case, according to commission secretary Sgt. Joe Reilly.
The officers could face suspension or possibly dismissal from the department, the charges say.
http://cbs5.com/localwire/localfsnews/bcn/2005/05/12/n/HeadlineNews/CAMMERIN-BOYD/resources_bcn_html