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Acting SFPD chief reports arrests, uses of force and drone deployment during recent protests; department reiterates sanctuary-city policy
Summary
Acting Chief Paul Yip told the Police Commission that overall crime is down year to date but described recent protest-related activity that included reported uses of force, hundreds of arrests and drone deployment. He reiterated that SFPD will follow city sanctuary policies and respect press freedoms while investigating allegations.
Acting Chief Paul Yip briefed the San Francisco Police Commission on June 11 about crime trends from June 2–8 and the department’s response to protest activity that followed national demonstrations.
Yip reported year-to-date declines in several categories: homicides down 23%, burglaries down 23%, motor vehicle thefts down 43% and overall crime down 27%. He said there were no homicides in the reporting week and described an earlier shooting on June 6 that produced two injured victims. He also reported a traffic collision fatality on June 2 on Geary Boulevard at Second Avenue in the Richmond District, in which a pedestrian pushing a wheelchair was struck and later died; that incident was under investigation.
On protest-related responses, Yip said the department recorded “9 uses of force” on the first day and “11” on a subsequent day — 20 total — characterized in his briefing as baton strikes and physical force (using officers’ bodies). He said he did not have information at the meeting about the use of weapons or discharges. The department reported approximately 155 arrests on June 8 (154 cited and released; six of those were juveniles aged 14–17) and about 92 arrests on June 9 (about 89 cited and released; three were booked, including one for warrants and one for threats). Yip said SFPD drones were deployed on both days after “obvious criminal activity” was observed, but he did not have deployment-duration figures available at the briefing and agreed to follow up with a timeline.
Yip told commissioners the department had coordinated with city partners, deployed assets on short notice and would review allegations raised by the First Amendment Coalition and the Society of Professional Journalists of Northern California regarding media access and reporting. “We honor and respect the freedom of the press,” he said, and added the department would review body-worn camera footage and other materials as part of investigations. Commissioners asked for and received a commitment to follow up with additional detail about uses of force, arrests, the timing of drone deployments and any disciplinary or investigative findings.
Commissioners and the acting chief discussed the department’s longstanding city policy on immigration enforcement. Yip said SFPD would follow city policy and state law: local officers are generally prohibited from assisting federal immigration enforcement except where required by law. He also thanked rank-and-file officers and other city agencies, including the sheriff’s and fire departments, for coordination during the protests.
Commissioners requested a comprehensive review and public presentation later in the summer that would include a breakdown of uses of force, arrests, drone usage and a response to the June 11 letter from press organizations. The commission indicated it planned to agendize a report once investigations and reviews provided more detail.
