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At SFPD Northern District hearing, residents demand more officers, sensitivity training and answers on cold homicides
Summary
Dozens of community members, faith leaders and victims' families told the Police Commission they support some map changes but want urgent action on hiring, racial‑profiling training and investigations into unsolved homicides; the chief promised a written response and reinstated training.
During a public comment period at a Police Commission meeting in the Northern District, scores of residents, faith leaders and family members pressed the San Francisco Police Department to prioritize hiring, training and cold‑case investigations even as the commission considered proposed map changes.
Multiple speakers demanded that the department implement prior recommendations from a 2008 PERF report and deliver clearer information about which recommendations were acted upon. "Time response in Northern District as well as Bayview District was longer according to that report," Daniel Mohammed of the San Francisco Black and Brown Alliance told the commission.
Family members of homicide victims described long waits for investigative progress and asked for help placing reward posters and for FBI involvement where they believe organized‑gang executions are implicated. Paulette Brown recounted that her son, Aubrey Abracasa, was murdered on 08/14/2006 and said the case remains unsolved; she asked for a venue where memorial posters can remain visible.
Faith and community leaders pressed for cultural and sensitivity training and for more officers who reflect neighborhood demographics. Reverend Brown presented arrest figures ("Your department arrested 37 students since September; of the 37, 26 African Americans," he said) and called for emergency treatment of disparities. Gloria Berry and other speakers described stops and detentions that they said resulted from mistaken identity and urged training on race, gender and hair‑style bias.
The chief responded that a racial‑profiling class that had lapsed because of funding was reinstated last month and that the department will include community input in that training. He pledged a written response to Reverend Brown and the faith leaders "by close of business tomorrow," and reiterated a staffing goal to rebuild the force after the city is roughly 300 officers down citywide.
Several community witnesses suggested partnering SFPD with the Department of Public Health, the San Francisco Unified School District and the district attorney's office on violence‑reduction strategies; others urged long‑term youth programs modeled on Harlem Zone or Richmond efforts.
Speakers also requested lists of homicide investigators and their caseloads (how many cases solved vs unsolved) and asked for clarity about when FBI assistance would be appropriate. The chair closed public comment after an extended hour of testimony; commissioners committed to follow‑up meetings and to written responses. The only formal motion recorded at the meeting was a procedural motion to adjourn, which passed by voice vote.
