Police commission advances revised body‑worn camera policy to meet‑and‑confer after months of negotiation

San Francisco — The San Francisco Police Commission on Feb. 12 voted to send to meet‑and‑confer the San Francisco Police Department’s revised Department General Order (DGO) 10.11 governing body‑worn cameras (BWCs), after several months of working‑group meetings and negotiated language changes.

Commissioner Dean Benedicto, who led the commission’s working‑group process on the DGO, described the final edits and thanked working‑group participants from the Bar Association, the public defender’s office, community organizations and department staff. “I’m immensely proud of the DGO we have in front of us,” Benedicto said.

Key changes narrowed the department’s proposed deactivation exemptions to a limited set of “major and critical incidents” and added a requirement that the member ordering a tactical deactivation must record the resulting orders on BWC once safe to do so. The DGO also adds a specific circumstance requiring activation when an on‑scene member issues commands or briefings during an active incident — language the department and commissioners said is intended to capture in‑field direction given by supervisors or command staff.

Chief William Scott and department attorneys said the revisions reflect a compromise: better documentation of tactical direction while preserving narrowly defined deactivation authority for safety and tactical reasons. Scott described the exemptions as “a very small universe” of incidents such as riots, explosive devices, active‑attacker incidents, hostages/barricaded suspects, officer‑involved shootings, officers shot or critically injured, and verified child abductions.

The DGO contains separate airport‑bureau provisions and requires a distinct, commission‑approved agreement for how BWCs and footage will be used and shared at San Francisco International Airport; where the department’s airport order conflicts with federal law or airport policy, the more restrictive provision will govern.

The DGO also tightens language on lineups and interviews: members or PSAs involved in a covered incident may not review BWC footage before being interviewed unless first authorized by the assigned criminal investigator, and initial member interviews must now “describe the actions” and “the member’s perceptions, including what they saw, heard, felt, believed, and experienced,” replacing a prior instruction to “summarize.”

DPA and outside stakeholders: Jermaine Jones of the Department of Police Accountability (DPA), Brian Cox of the Public Defender’s Office and Julie Tron of the Bar Association all spoke during public comment and in working‑group sessions. Cox thanked commissioners and staff for public negotiation and dialogue. Tron urged ongoing attention to best practices and redaction processes for discovery and prosecution.

Why it matters: The order governs when officers must record and when footage may be deactivated — both sensitive issues for officer safety, investigative integrity and public transparency. The commission and department said the compromise narrows deactivation authority while strengthening documentation of on‑scene command decisions and initial member statements.

What the vote does next: The commission approved sending DGO 10.11 to the department’s bargaining units for meet‑and‑confer as required by labor law; further changes could follow during the bargaining process. The meeting record shows the commission approved the motion to send the order to meet‑and‑confer; materials and additional edits will be part of the department’s ongoing labor and public process.

Looking ahead: Commissioners said they will continue to monitor implementation, including whether the department’s BWC unit redacts footage after incidents and how the airport‑specific agreement is finalized and presented to the commission.