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San Francisco Police Commission moves to closed session after public comments alleging stalking; disciplinary case assigned
Summary
The San Francisco Police Commission on Nov. 17, 2010 adopted routine minutes, heard multiple public comments including allegations that a man repeatedly harassed a speaker, assigned a disciplinary file (ALWC10-233) for hearing and voted unanimously to move into closed session to consider disciplinary matters.
Commission President Thomas Mazzucco opened the San Francisco Police Commission’s Nov. 17, 2010 public session and confirmed a quorum before the meeting moved through routine business and public comment.
During general public comment, Christine Harris said a man who attended recent commission meetings told her she “was on a list to be raped” and that he continued to follow and contact her despite requests to stop. Harris asked the commission to take steps to have the man stop contacting her. Doug Millar, who identified himself as a private investigator, told commissioners he believed the same man was stalking Harris and said he had performed a citizen’s arrest two weeks earlier; Millar said the group had submitted reports to the sheriff’s department and urged the commission to investigate and take immediate action.
Other members of the public raised separate concerns: Ace Washington pressed the department for closer engagement with community issues in the Western District; Deborah Benediction offered to help start a local Crime Stoppers branch; and Hiroshi Shimizu asked why police sometimes appeared to fail to follow ordinary traffic laws. Several speakers praised officers and offered support for department staff.
Commission business that followed included brief administrative items. The commission announced assignment of disciplinary charges filed against Patrol Special Officer Robert Burns (file number ALWC10-233) and designated Commissioner Joe Marshall to take evidence on that matter. The chair provided no date for the evidentiary hearing; the file was described as assigned to an individual commissioner for scheduling and taking of evidence.
Commissioners also discussed scheduling related items, including a Medal of Valor ceremony tentatively set for Dec. 15, 2010, and a pending review of a departmental general order regarding firing at moving vehicles (DGO 5.02). Commissioners debated whether consideration of the DGO should proceed in open session as a policy matter or in closed session if case-specific facts or attorney–client privileged advice were implicated. Several commissioners said a hybrid approach — public policy discussion with closed-session consideration of particular factual cases — would be appropriate.
Before adjourning to closed session, commissioners publicly thanked Lieutenant Riley for years of service and noted his reassignment to a new post in Assistant Chief Scheuer’s office. Multiple commissioners offered personal remarks of appreciation.
On Item 5, the commission voted on whether to hold a closed session to consider disciplinary matters. A motion was made and seconded; the chair called for the ayes and recorded the vote as unanimous. The commission moved into closed session to consider the disciplinary matters listed on the agenda and later reconvened and closed the public meeting at about 9:44 p.m.
No formal public resolution of the stalking allegations or the citizen’s arrest claim was recorded in the public session. The commission’s public record shows the formal assignment of file ALWC10-233 to Commissioner Joe Marshall and the unanimous vote to move into closed session.
