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Residents press Police Commission on Tracy Sheehan shooting and sanctuary policy
Summary
Multiple residents raised questions about police handling of the Aug. 7 Tracy Sheehan incident and criticized the city's sanctuary policy as a factor in recent violent crimes, calling for stronger oversight and action from city leaders and OCC.
During public comment at the Aug. 13 Police Commission meeting, members of the public pressed the commission for answers about a recent shooting and for stronger oversight of both police response and city sanctuary policy.
An attendee addressed "questions regarding the shooting of Tracy Sheehan of Aug. 7," asking why a social worker entered a locked room with officers, what police protocol is for interacting with individuals with mental illness, whether family members were contacted, and what mental-health training the responding officers had. The speaker also raised concerns about property security after the incident and asked for changes to prevent similar handling in the future.
Daniel Landry urged the commission to consider a charter amendment to expand the commission from seven to nine members and said he had filed a complaint with the Office of Citizen Complaints (Complaint 350-08) that had not been addressed. He also said he planned community debriefings and a press conference to advance the initiative.
Leslie Trass and other commenters linked a rise in violent crime to perceived policy failures and criticized the sanctuary policy, saying it had been used to shield violent offenders and naming Edwin Ramos as an example; those comments called on city leadership, including the mayor, to take stronger action. Multiple speakers said homicide and violent crime are disproportionately affecting African American and Latino males and urged the commission and city agencies to do more to protect residents.
Commission representatives replied that public comment is not an opportunity for the commission to answer specific investigatory questions in public but that command staff or OCC might follow up privately. The commission closed the public-comment period after the speakers finished.
The claims and allegations raised during public comment were not resolved during the meeting; some raised concerns about OCC responsiveness and case follow-up that commissioners said would be reviewed separately from the item on the agenda.
