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Clinicians and Community Call on Supervisors to Remove Sheriff—s Deputies from DPH Facilities
Summary
In more than an hour of public comment, dozens of clinicians, nurses and residents urged the Board to cancel the Sheriff's MOU with DPH and remove armed deputies from San Francisco General and clinics; DPH Director Grant Colfax said he supports exploring alternatives and transitioning security to models focused on de-escalation.
An extended public-comment period during the July 15 Budget & Appropriations Committee hearing drew dozens of callers — clinicians, nurses, community organizers and residents — pressing the Board to cancel the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the San Francisco Sheriff—s Department and the Department of Public Health and to remove armed deputies from hospitals and clinics.
Callers described multiple incidents they said demonstrated harm from an armed uniformed presence inside care settings and urged the board to invest sheriff MOU funds in trauma‑informed crisis response teams, more behavioral-health clinicians, housing and community-based safety models. Numerous commenters identified themselves by name and role, including current DPH clinicians and SFGH staff who said they had witnessed or experienced escalation rather than de-escalation.
Examples included a group of callers recounting a specific July 7 incident at San Francisco General that they said traumatized four young women; others described patients who were handcuffed to hospital beds while receiving care. Medical staff callers described cases in which the sheriff—s presence increased patient anxiety and interfered with clinical care.
"I urge this committee to completely remove funding from the SF Sheriff and reinvest money in programs that will support the health and safety of San Franciscans," said Dr. Tim Muldoon, a physician at San Francisco General. "The heavy presence of law enforcement is extremely threatening and goes against the creation of a safe and welcoming environment for the majority of our patients." Several callers echoed that language.
DPH Director Grant Colfax acknowledged community concerns and said the department is exploring alternatives to a uniformed law-enforcement model that better align with clinical de-escalation and trauma-informed care. "We are actively exploring, both at the hospital and across our system of care, what that could look like," Colfax said, while noting safety considerations and the need to ensure staff and patients feel protected.
The public-comment segment took place before the committee voted to file the DPH hearing. The committee did not take an immediate policy vote on the Sheriff-DPH MOU during this meeting; public commenters and several supervisors called for further action and oversight.
