Board Consents to Mayor’s Removal of Police Commissioner Max Carter Oberstone After Heated Hearing
Loading...
Summary
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9–2 on Feb. 25 to consent to Mayor Daniel Lurie’s request to remove Police Commissioner Max Carter Oberstone after a lengthy public hearing and extensive public comment.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9–2 on Feb. 25 to consent to Mayor Daniel Lurie’s request to remove Police Commissioner Max Carter Oberstone, concluding a public hearing that drew dozens of speakers for and against the mayor’s action.
The hearing opened with remarks from Max Carter Oberstone, who reviewed his background and said he accepted the commission’s role as independent civilian oversight. “My job is not to become popular with the agency I’m supposed to be overseeing,” he told the board, arguing that he had asked “the hard questions that needed to be asked” about department conduct. (Commissioner Max Carter Oberstone, 00:57:53.)
Public comment ran more than two hours. Dozens of advocates, civil-rights groups and family members of victims urged the board to keep Oberstone on the commission, saying he had advanced reforms and held the department accountable. The ACLU of Northern California, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office and other organizations submitted public statements and testified that removing an outspoken, subject-matter expert during Black History Month would weaken independent oversight.
Supporters pointed to the commissioner’s role in limiting pretextual traffic stops, his work on body-worn-camera policy, and his leadership on other commission initiatives. “We need commissioners like Max Carter Oberstone,” the ACLU’s representative told the board, saying the commission should not become a rubber stamp for the mayor’s office.
Opponents — and the mayor’s written request — framed the issue differently, saying the mayor sought a commissioner who would work more collaboratively with his administration on public-safety objectives. In the board’s deliberations, Supervisor Matt Dorsey moved to consent to the mayor’s removal; the motion was seconded and then called for a roll-call vote.
On the final roll call the board recorded nine ayes and two nos, with Supervisors Myrna Melgar and Jackie Fielder voting no. President Rafael Mandelmann announced the result and declared the motion adopted. The board’s action means the mayor’s removal request was approved by the supervisors.
