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Police Commission revises priorities, schedules officer mental-health follow-up for Sept. 14
Summary
After a lengthy review of a three-tier priorities list, commissioners kept language access and mental-health work high, discussed codifying a Brady policy, and calendared a September 14 follow-up on improving mental-health and counseling services for officers; public commenters urged focus on violent crime, POA finances and racial-bias concerns.
The San Francisco Police Commission spent a substantial portion of its Aug. 10 meeting reviewing and revising a multi-tiered priorities list adopted at a previous retreat. Commissioners debated which items to keep on the top tier, which to move down, and how to calendar long-term reviews for outstanding items.
Commissioners voiced consensus that language-access implementation and mental-health issues for civilians remain high priorities. A recurring theme in the discussion was the difference between adopting department general orders (DGOs) and ensuring those DGOs are implemented and audited; commissioners asked for hearings or audits where implementation lagged.
The commission discussed formalizing a bureau-level Brady procedure into a department general order, noting that at least one Brady letter had been appealed and overturned and that codification would require careful calibration and meet-and-confer procedures with affected parties.
Commissioner Angela Chan proposed adding "improving mental health and counseling services for officers" to the top tier and requested a follow-up hearing; commissioners agreed and calendared the item for Sept. 14 (Sept. 28 was offered as an alternative if a committee meeting conflicted). The clerk confirmed the Sept. 14 date would be placed on the calendar.
Public comment during the priorities discussion included a range of community concerns. Patricia Bawang urged that neighborhood nightclub violence and police staffing remain high priorities in her Marina-area neighborhood, citing recent property damage and calls for ambulances. Another speaker from the Bayview raised concerns about racially biased policing and argued that officers sometimes prioritize low-level enforcement (citations) over investigating violent crime. Emil Lawrence urged the commission to investigate Police Officers Association (POA) spending and long-term pension/salary projections; he alleged unpaid funds associated with a POA payroll contractor and criticized union political events.
On procedural matters, the commission voted to hold a later disciplinary agenda item (item 6) in closed session, then, after returning to open session, voted not to disclose the closed-session discussion on item 6. The meeting concluded with adjournment.
Next steps recorded in the meeting: the commission will hear a dedicated item on officer mental-health supports on Sept. 14 and meet in the Richmond District on Aug. 31 at Roosevelt Middle School.
