San Francisco Police Commission approves new ECD policy after hours of debate and public comment

The San Francisco Police Commission on March 14, 2018, voted 6-1 to adopt Department General Order 5.02, a new policy regulating the San Francisco Police Department's use of electronic control devices (ECDs), including an appendix establishing an internal ECD review board and reporting requirements. The commissionapproved the measure after lengthy discussion among commissioners, input from the chief and department staff, and more than an hour of public comment.

Commissioners took up Item 2, DGO 5.02, first on the agenda after Chair Turman moved the item forward and limited public comment to two minutes per speaker. The policy was developed through a multi-stakeholder process involving the department, the Department of Police Accountability (DPA), civil-rights and legal organizations and community groups; the commission used straw polls to resolve items where the working group had not found consensus.

Why it mattered: Supporters said a formal policy and a review board would create transparency and oversight for a controversial device. Opponents and many public commenters warned that certain modes of ECD operation, particularly the "drive-stun" or stun-on-contact mode, function as pain-compliance and raise serious safety risks for pregnant people, children, elderly people and those with serious medical or psychiatric conditions.

Key passages and limits: Commissioners debated precise language for when officers may activate an ECD. Commissioner Hirsch proposed a three-bullet replacement that would limit authorized use to narrower circumstances: (1) when a subject is armed with a non-firearm weapon and poses or is causing immediate physical injury; (2) when a subject is causing immediate physical injury or threatening to cause such injury and the officer reasonably believes the subject has the means and intent to carry out the threat; and (3) when a subject is violently resisting lawful detention or arrest. That proposed text was read into the record and adopted as part of the final set of edits.

Drive-stun mode and pain-compliance: The department maintained that the draft policy already prohibits use of ECDs as a pain-compliance technique but preserves limited uses of drive-stun mode such as completing a circuit when a probe fails to make full contact or to distract in close-quarters defensive situations. The DPA, the Mental Health Association and other public speakers pushed for an explicit ban on drive-stun as a pain-compliance method; the commission's final revisions allowed the mode in limited operational circumstances while reiterating the prohibition on its use solely as a pain-compliance tactic.

Protections for vulnerable people and reporting: Commissioners and public advocates pressed the commission to tighten protections for high-risk populations. The commission agreed to add examples (including schizophrenia as an example of psychiatric risk) and to a higher internal threshold: officers are directed to treat listed categories as higher-risk and to avoid ECD deployment where possible. The final motion also clarified that the DPA must be immediately notified when an activation results in serious bodily injury (removing a narrower requirement that notification be tied to admittance to a medical facility).

Training and implementation: The policy requires officers authorized to carry an ECD to complete department training, and commissioners captured agreement during the meeting that officers would complete the department's crisis-intervention and use-of-force trainings (the set of trainings discussed in the meeting included a 40-hour CIT component and a 20-hour use-of-force update). The department also confirmed plans to equip vehicles with automated external defibrillators (AEDs) as part of the rollout.

Oversight: The appendix establishes an ECD review board responsible for quarterly review of activations, written analysis, and policy/training recommendations. Stakeholders pressed for two police-commission members on the review board until a civilian member could be seated; the commission agreed to include two commissioners on the board pending the city attorney's guidance on civilian membership.

Vote and next steps: After final amendments reflecting the straw polls, a commissioner moved to approve DGO 5.02 and Appendix A as revised. The motion passed on a roll call vote, 6 to 1, with Commissioner Hing dissenting. The department will implement the policy in consultation with DPA and stakeholder groups and report back to the commission on training, coordinator assignment and data collection.

Public reaction and context: More than 30 public speakers addressed the commission on the ECD item. Speakers representing legal aid groups, the Mental Health Association, the Bar Association and community advocates urged either stricter limits or an outright ban on drive-stun and stressed the need for mandatory crisis-intervention training, AEDs in patrol vehicles and transparent public reporting. Supporters of a carefully limited policy said an ECD policy and review board would improve oversight and reduce deadly use-of-force outcomes when implemented properly.

The commission concluded the meeting with reports from the chief on crime trends and with commissioner updates on recent community town halls; the meeting adjourned following standard committee business.

Actions at a glance: The commission voted to adopt DGO 5.02 (use of electronic control devices) with Appendix A (ECD review board) as revised by commission amendments and straw polls (6 yes, 1 no). The policy eliminates the standalone "assaultive" definition in this policy document, clarifies notification and reporting to DPA for serious bodily injury, and requires specified trainings before officers can carry ECDs.

What comes next: The department will finalize implementation steps including assignment of a coordinator, AED deployment in vehicles and publication of ECD review board findings and summaries as part of the department's reporting processes; the commission will continue to receive implementation updates and review the policy's outcomes.