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Police commission reviews JTTF annual report as civil-rights groups press for more transparency
Summary
The San Francisco Police Commission heard an annual report on SFPD’s Joint Terrorism Task Force work and fielded sustained public criticism demanding clearer disclosure about informants, NSA-derived leads, and intelligence sharing. Lieutenant Daryl Fong said SFPD used no undercover/infiltrators in 2013 and described oversight measures; advocates said the report lacked operational detail.
The San Francisco Police Commission on Jan. 22 heard the San Francisco Police Department’s annual report on its relationship with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and faced repeated calls from civil-rights groups for more operational transparency.
Lieutenant Daryl Fong, who presented the department’s JTTF report, said no SFPD member assigned to the JTTF worked as an undercover officer or infiltrator in 2013 and that SFPD staffing to the task force consisted of two full-time employees that year. Fong described the department’s compliance obligations with Department General Order 8.1 and related departmental guidelines and read a letter from David Johnson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, thanking SFPD for its cooperation.
Advocates pushed back. Yaman Salahi of Advancing Justice94Asian Law Caucus asked whether SFPD officers work with informants cultivated independently by the FBI, whether the department follows leads generated through mass-surveillance programs, and how SFPD handles suspicious-activity reports. Mohammed Shek of Advancing Justice and Rachel Roberts of CAIR said the report did not provide sufficient detail about the kind of follow-up the JTTF performs or how frequently SFPD personnel pursue leads that might originate from federal metadata programs.
Commissioners asked for clearer, department-level responses to specific report questions and requested the FBI letter and additional documentation. Commissioner Turman asked the department to reexamine answers to several numbered report questions cited by advocates; Lieutenant Fong and Chief Gregory Pisser agreed to build out those responses and to provide the FBI letter to commissioners.
The exchange reflected a larger community concern since national disclosures about intelligence programs. Speakers from the Coalition for Safe San Francisco and other groups urged the commission to press for more information about how SFPD time on the JTTF is spent and whether SFPD has sought new training or policy changes in light of federal disclosures.
The commission did not take any formal enforcement action at the meeting on the JTTF relationship; commissioners and staff agreed to follow up with written material and more detailed responses to the questions raised by community groups.
