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Introduction to the SF Police Reform Amendment Campaign
Basic facts about the on-going police reform amendment campaign in San Francisco.
The SF Police Reform Charter is a pending amendment to the city charter of San Francisco. It requires approval by the Board of Supervisors, and will then be put on the fall ballot for approval by voters. Updates regarding the campaign against police misconduct and violence in San Francisco will be updated on SF Indymedia. This is an introduction and basic facts about the reform amendment.
The Breakdown in Civilian Accountability of the San Francisco Police
While the "Fajitagate" scandal brought issues of police accountability to the forefront, that one incident of police misconduct serves to highlight a much deeper breakdown in accountability. In the past couple of years, the SFPD has been racked with scandal including:
- A pattern of "obstruction and delay" by the Police Department directed towards the Office of Citizen Complaints' investigations of police misconduct.
- Cases of sustained police misconduct have been dismissed due to the department's failure to act in a timely manner.
- An expose in the San Francisco Chronicle documented that SFPD is last in the country among large cities in solving violent crimes.
- Controversial officer-involved shootings, including the death of Idriss Stelley at the Metreon which alone cost the city $500,000 to settle.
- There are 3500 criminal cases potentially affected by SFPD withholding information from the courts and defense counsel.
- Undercover SFPD officers spied on anti-war protests without authorization.
- The Police Commission refuses to exercise oversight function, hold hearings on accountability issues or deal with issues of community concern, including the Thurgood Marshall incident, despite repeated requests by civil rights orgnaizations and community members.
The Charter Amendment will improve police accountability by improving oversight mechanisms. The amendment strengthens both the Police Commission and the Office of Citizen Complaints, drawing from recommendations made by the Controller, the OCC and the ACLU. The reforms include:
- Making the Police Commission more representative by increasing the number of commissioners from five to seven.
- Makes the Police Commission have a greater diversity of opinion by splitting appointment power between the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors.
- Makes the Police Commission more independent by staggering commissioner's terms and providing that commissioners cannot be removed without consent of the Supervisors.
- Gives the OCC the power to bring sustained misconduct charges directly to the Police Commission when the Chief fails to act or seeks to bury cases.
- Gives the OCC clear power to receive all relevant documents from the Police Department in misconduct investigations.
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All the talk about "reforming" the SFPD is a lot of whitewash.
I agree -- reforming SFPD (an occupying army in our city) is never going to happen. We must get rid of SFPD completely and replace them with a humanitarian body instead of what they are now -- a right-wing paramilitary.
However, this is a war, and we are losing. This is a worthwhile battle to fight because the Police Commission has the legal authority to attack the police department directly. We should use this weapon if we can.
However, this is a war, and we are losing. This is a worthwhile battle to fight because the Police Commission has the legal authority to attack the police department directly. We should use this weapon if we can.
it's not like our options are a) reform the sfpd or b) get rid of the State.
if you would like to see the state reduced from its currently almighy position, keeping an eye on the pd's behavior is a good thing to be doing.
it's one of the unique benefits of living in a society that claims to be a democracy; some power actually still lies with the people within the system. why not use that leverage?
i'm tired of seeing cops beat on protesters; i'd love to see some real accountability.
if you would like to see the state reduced from its currently almighy position, keeping an eye on the pd's behavior is a good thing to be doing.
it's one of the unique benefits of living in a society that claims to be a democracy; some power actually still lies with the people within the system. why not use that leverage?
i'm tired of seeing cops beat on protesters; i'd love to see some real accountability.
The protesters might want to think about policing their own ranks and weeding out the idiots who use the anonymity of a crowd to vandalize - or is that encouraged?
Has Anyone looked into the O.C.C. and held them accountable? I doubt it. Their sole objective is to sustain complaints. This is because sustained complaints are the only thing that validates their existance. They are not in the business of finding the truth. They are in the business of keeping themselves employed. Who is policing the O.C.C.? the answer is nobody. The O.C.C. does not have General Orders to abide by. Now they want to do away with due process. You remember due process, its a little thing those with an anti police agenda scream about. Now the Board of Stupidvisors wants to increase their own power by appointing commisioners. They are also willing to allow the O.C.C. to run so called sustained complaints past the existing checks and balances, depriving every Police Officer the same due process ( they are u.s. citizens too). This is the wrong kind of reform. It gives to much power to the board of stupidvisors, and takes away constitutional rights of Police, (even if you hate them with all your heart) those who have dedicated their lives to serve you, even if you don't live in San Francisco.
You mean like those masked, vandal scofflaws who dumped all that tea in the harbor that time?
Brilliant analogy. NOT!
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