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Families press SFPD and DPA on unsolved homicides as DPA director reports case closures and training
Summary
Family members of homicide victims appealed for more public outreach and venues to post victims' images while the Department of Police Accountability reported closing 60 cases in the month and an active caseload of 271; the chief said an investigator has been assigned to the family's cold case.
Family members used the commission's public-comment period to press the San Francisco Police Department and the Department of Police Accountability for stronger outreach on unsolved homicides. Paulette Brown described her son's unsolved murder at Grove and Baker and said a $250,000 reward remains posted but the family struggles to keep his photograph visible in public. "We talk about the killings that are going on here in San Francisco...but you guys still forgetting the families," Brown said.
Chief Bill Scott responded to Brown's question about case publicity by saying the department currently posts homicide rewards on the department bulletin and that the homicide unit has reassigned a retired investigator to work on her son's case. "We actually have an investigator who we brought back from retirement actually assigned to that homicide," the chief said, adding the department will continue work on the case and "we will never give up on that case."
In a separate report to the commission, Department of Police Accountability Director Paul Henderson said he has closed a number of older complaints since taking office three months earlier, reporting he closed 60 cases in the month and currently oversees about 271 active cases. He said the DPA is recruiting investigators to reduce caseloads and announced implicit-bias training approved for his staff.
Commissioners and members of the public urged the department to post unsolved-homicide information more prominently and to consider venues beyond the department website so community members are more likely to see reward notices and case information. Chief Scott said a website redesign funded in the year's budget should allow more public-facing posting of unsolved-homicide information.
