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Board moves to separate public-advocate and police-accountability measures; hearings continued after heavy public comment
Summary
After hours of public comment and closed-door talks, supervisors amended and agreed to continue both a public-advocate charter amendment and a standalone Department of Police Accountability charter measure to later committee hearings to finalize language and consider voter submission.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on July 26 advanced separate charter amendments to restructure city oversight of policing and to update the public-advocate office after a large, often emotional public comment period.
Supervisor London Breed and Supervisor Jane Kim introduced a revised public-advocate measure while Supervisor Jane Kim and Supervisor London Breed worked with Supervisor Sandra Cohen on a separate proposal to convert the city’s Office of Citizens’ Complaints into a Department of Police Accountability with independent hiring and budget authority. Those parallel measures drew large crowds: residents, civil-rights advocates, and youth organizers filled the chamber and urged the board to put police-accountability reforms to voters.
Supervisor Cohen, who led the Department of Police Accountability measure, said the draft had been amended to remove language tying the DPA directly into the public advocate proposal and to clarify appointment and confirmation powers. After hours of discussion and public testimony — including calls from NAACP representatives, youth groups and victims’ families — the board agreed to amendments proposed by Supervisors Campos and Cohen to ensure voters could decide on the measures separately.
The board amended the proposed public-advocate measure and continued it to a Committee of the Whole meeting on July 28 at 8:30 a.m. to allow city attorneys to finalize technical language. The board also amended and continued the Department of Police Accountability charter amendment to the same committee of the whole July 28 meeting.
What speakers said: Supporters of the DPA measure said stronger independent oversight is needed to rebuild community trust, pointing to recent high-profile use-of-force cases and denied complaints. Opponents warned that some proposed powers could create conflicts or duplicate existing bodies and urged careful drafting. Supervisor Sandra Cohen said the amendments were meant to let voters consider each measure on its merits.
Why it matters: The changes would reshape civilian oversight of policing in San Francisco and could transfer hiring or budget authority away from the Police Department or other executive offices. Both measures require careful legal drafting and could appear on the November 2016 ballot if finalized in time.
Next steps: Both charter amendment drafts were amended in the chamber and will be taken up in a Committee of the Whole on July 28 for final language review and possible placement on the November ballot.
