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Supervisors press for independent investigations after San Francisco jail abuse allegations
Summary
At a March 7 Government Audit & Oversight Committee hearing, supervisors, the public defender, the district attorney and the Department of Police Accountability debated transferring inmate abuse investigations out of the Sheriff's Department after allegations of physical abuse and evidence mishandling. Sheriff Vicki Hennessy said she has begun turning cases over to the DPA.
San Francisco ' At a March 7 hearing of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee, supervisors and legal officials pressed for independent investigations into repeated allegations that sheriff's deputies physically abused inmates and that prior criminal prosecutions were undermined by mishandled evidence.
Supervisor Kamala Walton, who called the hearing, said the goal was not to attack the sheriff or deputies but to ensure investigations into allegations are "independent, free from bias, adequate and thorough." She cited reporting and communications from the Public Defender's Office and said that the City must ensure that the person who investigates allegations is not the only person who decides consequences.
The hearing centered on recent complaints by inmates alleging physical assaults and degrading searches inside San Francisco's jail system and on a prosecution the district attorney's office dismissed earlier this year. "On Friday, 02/01/2019, the San Francisco district attorney's office…
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