Police commission hears chief on OIS cases, OCC reports five sustained complaints; one patrol‑special appointment approved, two continued

The San Francisco Police Commission on Nov. 7 received routine reports from the chief of police and the city—s Office of Citizen Complaints, and acted on several assistant patrol‑special officer appointments.

Chief (recorded in the meeting as Gregory P. S.) told commissioners October was exceptionally busy because of special events and World Series celebrations. He reported that officers made 42 gun arrests and seized 40 firearms during the month, and said year‑to‑date gun violence in San Francisco was down "near 10%" compared with the prior year. The chief also said property crime had increased about 6% and that property‑crime arrests were up nearly 10%.

The chief outlined departmental scheduling: a public overview of the officer‑involved shooting (OIS) process and the Firearm Discharge Review Board (FDRB) is on the calendar (the presenter noted a public overview is scheduled for the 12th of next month) and the next FDRB was tentatively set for Dec. 20. The chief said the department is working with the city attorney to reformat Department General Order 5.05 and expected to return a revised draft within 30 days. He also announced community meetings on less‑lethal weapons will be convened in January to allow more public discussion after the holidays.

Sergeant presenting the OIS summary said the FDRB meeting on Sept. 20 reviewed two cases and that the department currently has 13 open OIS investigations, some of which date to 2011. The presentation summarized two July cases: OID 002‑12 (07/01/2012, 407 Wall Street, Ingleside — two dogs shot after attempts to capture them; finding: in policy under the vicious‑animal clause) and OID 003‑12 (07/27/2012 — negligent discharge at a station during weapons cleaning that damaged station property). The commission asked for a public educational presentation on OIS and FDRB processes to improve understanding of technical terms used in those reviews.

OCC Director Joyce Hicks reported the office had adjudicated five sustained complaints in October. She detailed the categories and remedies: a neglect‑of‑duty finding for failure to collect traffic stop data (written reprimand); a neglect‑of‑duty finding for failure to record ending mileage when transporting an in‑custody passenger (admonishment); a neglect‑of‑duty finding for failing to prepare an incident report when a complainant asked the officer to arrest a private person (admonishment); a neglect‑of‑duty finding for failing to document safeguarding a complainant—s keys (admonishment); and a misconduct finding for profane language plus failure to issue a certificate of release (written reprimand).

On personnel actions, the commission postponed consideration of Moises Romero—s appointment as assistant patrol‑special after commissioners said packet materials were redacted and asked for more information; the matter was taken off calendar for follow up. The commission approved David Randall Cabrera as an assistant patrol‑special officer after a motion and voice vote. The appointment of Edward Yim was continued to allow the department to answer questions about whether a privately prepared background met POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training) guidelines; commissioners set a follow‑up for the Nov. 28 district meeting.

The commission voted to move into closed session to discuss litigation and disciplinary matters, invoking attorney‑client privilege under San Francisco Administrative Code section 67.1, and adjourned after offering remarks honoring two retiring leaders, Deputy Chief Kevin Cashman and POA Vice President Kevin Martin.

Next procedural steps noted in the meeting record: a public OIS/FDRB overview (scheduled by department staff), FDRB on Dec. 20, community meetings on less‑lethal weapons in January, and follow‑up appointment hearings on Nov. 28.