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Interim chief praised as department reports drop in short-term crime and key arrests
Summary
Deputy/Interim Chief Godown received a certificate of appreciation and reported arrests in a high-profile German-tourist homicide; the chief said crime was down roughly 17% over the last 28 days and property crime down about 20% but specific auto-theft/burglary figures were unclear in the transcript.
Deputy/Interim Chief Godown was presented a certificate of appreciation May 4 for leading the San Francisco Police Department through a recent leadership transition and sustaining department operations during a period of change.
Commissioners praised Godown’s responsiveness, participation in Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) work and steadying leadership. Godown said he was proud to have served as interim chief and described handing command to the newly sworn-in chief.
In his crime-statistics and operations report, the chief described successful investigative work in a homicide of a German tourist (identified in the transcript as the Mechthild Shore case). He said several search and arrest warrants executed that day resulted in seven suspects in custody and investigators are seeking an eighth. The chief attributed the arrests to coordinated work across Central, Tenderloin and the homicide/gang task force, with assistance from Fremont Police Department and the district attorney’s office.
The chief said, for the last 28-day cycle, crime was down about 17% and overall property crime was down about 20%. He described declines in auto thefts and burglaries but the transcript’s numerical detail for those categories was unclear and is reported here as stated by presenters rather than exact percentages.
The chief also described immediate command-staff adjustments intended as cost-saving measures (restructuring assistant chiefs into deputy-chief roles, forgoing scheduled pay advances, and removing SUVs from command staff use) and said procurement and staffing matters would continue to be managed during the department’s budget process.
Commissioners asked to see how the command staff is organized and praised Godown for maintaining continuity while the chief-selection process concluded.
