Board of Supervisors votes to consent to mayor’s removal of police commissioner Max Carter Overstone after hours of public comment

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Feb. 25 voted 9–2 to consent to Mayor Daniel Lurie’s request to remove Police Commissioner Max Carter Overstone, capping a daylong public hearing that drew more than a hundred speakers and widespread media attention.

The vote came after roughly four hours of public comment and a 10‑minute address from Overstone, who said he had used his term to demand accountability and independent oversight of the San Francisco Police Department. “My first and only obligation is to the people of San Francisco, not to any politician or political cause,” Overstone told the board during his remarks. He asked supervisors to defend “the public’s right to honest and independent oversight.”

Why it matters: The police commission is the civilian body charged with setting policy and providing oversight of the SFPD. San Francisco voters have repeatedly endorsed independent oversight in recent years; removal of a commissioner before the end of a term is rare and drew intense public scrutiny.…