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Commission says Copley decision compels closed sessions, moves to seek legislative remedy
Summary
The commission voted to disclose certain closed‑session discussion and agreed to advance a resolution asking the mayor and Board of Supervisors to petition the Legislature after the California Supreme Court’s Copley Press decision; commissioners also decided to hold certain disciplinary hearings in closed session per counsel’s advice.
The San Francisco Police Commission voted to disclose portions of an earlier closed‑session discussion and took up a draft resolution urging the mayor and Board of Supervisors to press the state Legislature to amend the law after the California Supreme Court’s decision in Copley Press, Inc. v. Superior Court.
President Louise Rennie explained the commission believed it was "compelled by the Copley decision to hold a closed session" for evidentiary hearings and said the commission had directed the city attorney "to develop procedures in light of that case to provide us with as much reporting as possible." She said the goal was to follow the court's ruling while preserving transparency "as narrowly as we possibly can so that the public, to the extent that we are able to do so, will have as much transparency as is possible."
Commissioner Petra de Jesus proposed specific edits to the draft resolution—seeking to change language in paragraph two to reference police commissions and to add that Penal Code section 832.7 "appears to prohibit any type of public hearing"—and moved that the city attorney incorporate her changes. That motion was seconded and approved without objection. Several commissioners objected to the draft not being publicly posted in advance and asked that the revised draft be posted and continued to the next meeting to allow public review.
The commission then moved into closed session for item 7, which concerns motions for dismissal of disciplinary charges in several OCC file numbers (C06030–C06035). Before clearing the room, the president invited public comment specifically on the decision to go into closed session; members of the public described perceived harms from open personnel hearings and urged the commission to consider the effects on officers and victims.
The commission reconvened in open session later and deferred several related agenda items for further handling. No formal legislative change can be made by the commission itself; the resolution, as revised, is to urge the mayor and Board of Supervisors to petition the Legislature for statutory change.
Next steps: the city attorney will post a revised draft of the resolution, the commission will take further public comment at the continued hearing, and staff plan to return the item at the next meeting.
