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Family members urge action on cold case; public accuses SFPD of brutality and rising payrolls; chief responds
Summary
During public comment a resident urged attention to a 2006 homicide cold case and another speaker alleged SFPD brutality in a recent bicyclist incident and raised concerns about pay and pensions; Chief Suhr said the bicyclist event was referred to the OCC and disputed some payroll/pension numbers, urging witnesses to come forward.
Multiple members of the public used the commission's general comment period to press for action on specific incidents and to criticize department practices.
Paulette Brown described the unsolved 2006 murder of her son, Aubrey Abarcassa, and appealed to the department for help and witness information. Chief Suhr acknowledged the case was unsolved and asked anyone with information to come forward to assist homicide investigators.
Emile Lawrence (self-identified as a city resident) addressed a separate set of concerns: he cited a newspaper article alleging that SFPD officers beat a Black bicyclist and said officers with repeated OCC complaints are not publicly addressed by the commission. He also raised fiscal concerns about alleged rapid growth in SFPD payroll and pensions.
Chief Suhr said the bicyclist incident had been referred to the OCC for full investigation and reiterated the department's request that witnesses come forward. On payroll and pension assertions, the chief said officers' pensions are not increasing at 7.5% per year and that reserve officers are unpaid; he described possibilities for retired officers to volunteer to augment staffing.
The public-comment period closed with the commission noting the items raised and the chief's offer to follow up with speakers where appropriate.
