Marine veteran tells Police Commission surveillance at Asian Art Museum raised privacy concerns

During the meeting’s public-comment period, Chris Ward Klein, who identified himself as "Sergeant Klein" and said he is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, told the San Francisco Police Commission he photographed surveillance equipment at the Asian Art Museum during a weekend festival and urged the commission to address the matter.

Klein said the devices were "surveillance cameras that are used to control crowds, protests, violence, etcetera" and asserted they had been "turned on 24/7" at the event. He said that, in his view, the equipment "should not be turned on" and warned of possible harms if the technology is used inappropriately. Klein told the commission he filed a report with the Department of Justice and the FBI and that he had informed the sheriff and the interim police chief. He said he would provide the commission a copy of the police report at the next meeting and give officials one week to investigate.

The comment was presented during the general public-comment portion of the meeting; the transcript records no formal commission response or action on Klein’s allegations during the session.

The commission’s public-comment instructions read at the start of the meeting noted that under the commission’s rules, "neither police, DPA personnel, nor commissioners are required to respond to questions by the public, but may provide a brief response." The transcript does not show any follow-up by the commission on Klein’s remarks during that meeting.

Because Klein’s remarks allege possible misconduct and reference investigations with federal agencies, they are unverified in this record; the commission did not record any immediate investigatory assignment or confirmation on the transcript.