Chief says citywide Part 1 crimes down 20%, urges bond to fix aging police facilities; answers questions on DNA backlog and officer-involved shooting

Chief Gascon told the San Francisco Police Commission on Jan. 27 that citywide Part 1 crimes are down about 20% year-to-date compared with the same period last year, citing a 25% drop in reported rapes, a 9% decline in robbery and a 49% reduction in auto thefts.

"We're standing at a total of 20% reduction year to date," Chief Gascon said, adding that violent crime overall is down about 12% year-to-date. He gave the commission a breakdown of several categories and said property crime was down roughly 21%.

The chief urged commissioners to support placement of a public-safety bond on the June ballot to address aging and seismically vulnerable police facilities, including the Hall of Justice. "If there was to be a major earthquake... the Hall of Justice could be one of those buildings that actually could come down," he said, noting that the building houses critical command-and-control functions, the medical examiner and parts of the crime lab.

Gascon said the department is confronting a forensic backlog and limited laboratory capacity. He told commissioners the city needs updated lab facilities to avoid expensive, multi-year outsourcing and to reduce the backlog of DNA and other forensic work.

Commissioners pressed the chief for specifics on the DNA backlog and asked for a report timed to the budget process. "We can actually get you the number of the violent crimes that are backlogged right now," Gascon said, but he acknowledged the department was finalizing definitions and prioritization protocols that affect backlog counts.

The meeting also included detailed questioning about a recent officer-involved shooting. Chief Gascon said dispatch had informed officers the subject was distraught and that, at the time, dispatch told them there were no weapons present. According to the chief's account, when officers entered a small, confined home the subject drew a machete (the chief described the blade as roughly 18 inches with a total length near 26 inches) and raised it as an officer retreated; an officer fired when within roughly 2 to 4 feet of the weapon.

"The officers were not told that there was any weapons," Gascon said. "In fact, they were told the contrary. ... When the officers arrived... the individual had his hands behind his back. The officer told him to bring his hands out. He didn't. ... He pulled [the machete] out. He raised it. The shooting occurred."

Commissioners and members of the public asked whether nonlethal options such as beanbag rounds were available and whether dispatch protocols adequately conveyed risk. Gascon said beanbag rounds can be ineffective in close confinement and that the department would supply data requested by commissioners. He also asked the commission to delay the scheduled full review of officer-involved shootings to a date when he could be present.

The commission requested a more detailed, scheduled briefing on the DNA backlog, its current size and how proposed budget allocations would affect turnaround times. The chief and commissioners agreed to provide the public a date for a fuller report.