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Commission assigns charges for two patrol special officers; public urges support for patrol specials amid staffing concerns
Summary
The commission assigned disciplinary charges against two assistant patrol special officers and received multiple public comments urging support for patrol specials and warning of understaffing at Southern Station if patrol specials are curtailed.
The San Francisco Police Commission on April 23 assigned disciplinary charges against two assistant patrol special officers and heard a string of public comments defending the program and raising safety and staffing concerns.
At the meeting the commission announced disciplinary charges against assistant patrol special officers Christian Crane (star #2643) and Thomas Wong (star #2554) and assigned the matter to an individual commissioner for the taking of evidence. The commission noted Officer Crane had resigned and said charges against Wong will proceed. The record shows the charges will be assigned to Commissioner Mazuka for evidentiary proceedings.
The decision prompted numerous public comments in support of patrol special officers and calls for additional sworn staffing in the Southern District. Brian Hill, representing Castro Community Patrol, urged the commission to support patrol specials as a deterrent and noted SFPD response times to certain lower-priority calls can be long because the department is "severely understaffed." Jamie Whitaker told the commission that Southern Station faces a high call volume historically and estimated the district would need about 100 more officers to meet the demand if patrol specials are reduced.
Other public speakers raised safety concerns that overlapped with the patrol‑specials debate: a tenant (Rita Lark) described repeated incidents at her building, including a reported shooting at her door and a device left in a gate, and asked the commission and Park Station to follow up; a mother of a murdered teen asked for help with cold, unsolved homicide cases. District Attorney Marissa Rodriguez praised Captain Redmond’s work and community-policing approach but did not comment on specific disciplinary outcomes.
The commission did not announce a final disciplinary adjudication for the patrol special matters at the meeting; it only assigned the charges for further proceedings. Several public commenters urged the commission to weigh community reliance on patrol specials in any decisions that might curtail the program.
Next steps: the disciplinary matters will be scheduled for evidence-taking with the assigned commissioner; the commission will not finalize discipline until the evidentiary process and any hearings are complete.
