Special Prosecutor Needed to Investigate SFPD

It was certainly no surprise to learn that many police officers at Bayview Station have contempt for those they are paid to protect and serve. Police-community relations in Bayview have been troubled for years, as predominately white officers act as if they are an occupying force in a largely African-American community.

If it took a racist video to bring meaningful change to the SFPD’s Bayview presence, fine. The focus now should be to ensure that this scandal, unlike its predecessors across San Francisco, is not dealt with by simply rearranging personnel.

Mayor Newsom appears committed to solving this problem, and his quick response of creating an outside investigative body was sound. But an oversight body that lacks prosecutorial powers will accomplish little, and is unlikely to be taken seriously by a distrustful community.

The only way real reform will come to the SFPD is if a special prosecutor independent of the political process is given full powers to get the job done. As Mayor George Moscone learned nearly thirty years ago, and as has been proved by his successors, San Francisco’s political system prevents meaningful SFPD reform.

Mayor Newsom sees himself as a path breaker, and his approval numbers are high, but no prior mayor in recent history has succeeded in changing the dominant culture of the SFPD. Willie Brown had a brief period where he seemed to have the SFPD intimidated by his power, but once his focus moved elsewhere, the bad practices returned.

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