SF Examiner Begins Campaign to Preserve Police Brutality

Today the Examiner issued an editorial criticizing the police reform charter amendment. We need to generate letters to the editor in response. Please take 5 minutes to write a letter. Attached is a link to the editorial and a sample letter to the editor. Please modify it and send the letter into the examiner.

Link to examiner editorial:
http://www.examiner.com/opinion/default.jsp?story=071703op_editorial

Submit letters to the editor to: letters [at] sfexaminer.com

Re: Police Accountability Charter Amendment

I am writing on behalf of San Franciscans for Police Reform and Oversight about an important police reform Charter Amendment that will be going to the voters this November. Over the past several months, the breakdown in police accountability within the San Francisco Police Department has been well documented. From a Police Commission that is unresponsive to community concerns to a department that has failed to cooperate with misconduct investigations, the process is breaking down. Reform is necessary and we are writing to seek your endorsement for the Charter Amendment.

While the misconduct case involving Alex Fagan Jr. and the irregularities in the subsequent investigation brought police accountability issues to the forefront, that incident merely highlighted much deeper problems - problems that start at the top. The Police Commission has failed to properly oversee the Department or respond to community concerns about police misconduct and policy despite repeated requests.

Perhaps the most glaring example of this failure of oversight involves the Thurgood Marshall incident. On October 11, 2002, over sixty police officers responded en mass to an altercation at Thurgood Marshall High School. Children were intimidated, hit with batons, and the incident sparked anger in the community. Members of the school board, parents, teachers, students, and community organizations made repeated requests for hearings on the incident and policy issues surrounding police in schools. Despite these requests and the anger and frustration this incident caused in the community, the Commission simply ignored these concerns. Unfortunately, the Commission's response to the Marshall incident was not unique; rather it was reflective of a broad failure of oversight.

While the Commission has ignored oversight issues, the Office of Citizen Complaints ("OCC"), the agency charged with investigating public complaints about police misconduct, has suffered. According to a 30 page report issued by the OCC, its efforts to investigate misconduct have been stalled because the Police Department has "routinely obstructed and delayed" its investigations. The Police Commission has exacerbated this problem by refusing to give the OCC documents in key cases, ignoring the advice of the City Attorney. As a result of this breakdown in accountability, cases of sustained misconduct have been dismissed and the OCC has been severely hampered in its effort to investigate police misconduct.

The Charter Amendment addresses these problems by doing the following:
Makes the Police Commission more representative and diverse by expanding the Commission from 5 to 7 members and splitting the appointment power between the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors.

Increases the Police Commission's independence by staggering the terms of Commissioners and preventing removal without the consent of the Supervisors.

Makes clear that the Office of Citizen Complaints must have access to all necessary records in conducting its investigations.

Gives the Office of Citizen Complaints the power to bring cases directly to the Police Commission, preventing cases from being dismissed.

Police accountability is a critical issue and these reforms will go a long way towards creating a more responsive and accountable Police Department. I hope that you will support this important measure.