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Commission sets timeline for pursuit and use-of-force policy revisions
Summary
The commission was briefed that a consolidated draft of DGO 5.05 on pursuits will be sent for POA and command review with an aim to return to the commission in about six weeks; OCC urged a prompt change to DGO 5.01 to treat complaints of pain as reportable events.
The San Francisco Police Commission on Sept. 19 received status updates and a tentative timeline for two major departmental policy reviews: the pursuit policy (DGO 5.05) and use-of-force reporting (DGO 5.01).
Greg McEachern, commanding officer in charge of written directives, said staff and outside stakeholders had produced a consolidated draft of DGO 5.05 and that the department planned to send it to the Police Officers Association for a two-week review before presentation to command staff and the commission. "Our expectation is that it will be sent to the Police Officers Association with a directive of two weeks to come back... and then a final presentation to the commission for adoption," McEachern said, and commissioners discussed calendaring a public discussion for Nov. 7.
The Office of Citizen Complaints highlighted urgency on the pursuit policy, noting that "over one-third of all pursuits end in a collision," and urged the commission to adopt a date certain for final action. On DGO 5.01 (use of force), OCC recommended a targeted change to make incidents in which a person complains of pain subject to the same investigation and reporting as incidents with visible injury. OCC said the change could be implemented quickly through a department bulletin while staff work on a broader revision.
Commissioners asked for the current drafts to be circulated in advance so they could meaningfully question staff and pressed for clarity on the meet-and-confer timeline with the POA. Staff apologized for not having paper copies available at the meeting and committed to emailing the current draft to commissioners as soon as possible.
What happens next: the department will circulate the draft of DGO 5.05, conduct the POA meet-and-confer, present to command staff, and return to the commission for a final decision on the scheduled calendar dates. The commission left DGO 5.01 on the docket for further discussion on Oct. 24.
