Public commenters press Police Commission on translation services, bilingual pay and unpaid payroll clerks; chief's leadership criticized

The San Francisco Police Commission heard several public commenters on April 15 raising concerns about translation services, differential bilingual pay, payroll-clerk grievances and police leadership.

Steven Robert Morse, a reporter with the nonprofit Public Press, asked why the San Francisco Police Department contracts with LanguageLine for 911 translation services, requested details about the contract and asked why officers who speak Chinese, Spanish and Russian receive bilingual pay while speakers of other languages do not. He said he had tried to contact the department's PIO and asked staff to follow up.

Frank Martin del Campo, representing SEIU, said payroll clerks had performed unpaid work and that the department's settlement offer covered roughly one-third of what the clerks say they are owed. He said the grievance had escalated to the citywide level and asked the commission to contact the mayor to seek relief.

A separate commenter, Helene Delannini, criticized Chief Heather Fong's leadership and described the demotion of Deputy Chief Gregory Sur (transcript variants). Delannini called Chief Fong "ineffectual, weak" and said officers had to operate with "one hand tied behind their backs;" she urged the city to change leadership.

Commissioners and staff explained the commission's limits under the city charter, noting that individual personnel grievances and departmental operations fall under the department and the chartered grievance process; the commission said it could provide moral support and help direct people to the appropriate agencies but could not intervene directly in personnel matters.

The public comment period closed after these speakers; commissioners asked staff to help connect the inquirers with department command staff and other appropriate resources.