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Community voices: praise, complaints and calls for justice at Police Commission meeting
Summary
Public speakers praised specific officers, raised concerns about OCC delays and perceived excessive force, urged more patrols in neighborhoods and sought justice in a 2006 homicide cold case during a lengthy public comment period.
Multiple members of the public addressed the Police Commission during the general public comment period on Feb. 5, highlighting both praise for officers and continuing concerns about police practices and oversight.
Jackie Bryson opened public comment with a commendation for Tenderloin Station officers and Captain Chernys/Ternus, saying the officers helped her through a process to file a vicious/dangerous dog complaint and got her to a March 6 hearing. "My name is Jackie Bryson, and I am here to commend 2 officers out of our Tenderloin Station," she told the commission.
Ray Hartz, director of San Francisco Open Government, described what he characterized as an attempted intimidation at a prior meeting, and said he otherwise considered OCC Executive Director Hicks "very intelligent, highly professional, extremely competent." He told the commission he had been careful to focus comments on a specific report rather than make personal attacks.
Michael Petrellis, a blogger and transparency activist, said an OCC complaint he filed more than a year earlier had not progressed and questioned why disciplinary complaints do not result in faster outcomes. "I feel it is like a waste of time to file these complaints," he said, and he also raised concerns about perceived excessive use of force in videos he recorded in the Mission and the Castro.
Other commenters asked for more street patrols, praised a new ALU leader (Eddie Santos) and a community speaker asked for continued attention to cold-case homicides; Paulette Brown told the commission she continues to seek justice for her son, a 2006 murder that remains unsolved.
Ending: Commissioners listened without debate during public comment and scheduled follow-ups on several agenda items; public commenters left the meeting with commitments that commissioners and staff would pursue budgetary and oversight follow-up where applicable.
