Supervisors press for independent investigations after San Francisco jail abuse allegations

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 dismissed charges on deputies accused of participating in, condoning, enforcing fighting of inmates in our jails," Chesa Boudin of the Public Defender's Office told the committee. He added that "the stated reason charges were dismissed is because it is believed that the sheriff's department destroyed evidence."

Sheriff Vicki Hennessy said she immediately opened internal investigations after complaints surfaced and has since begun turning the December 3 case materials over to the Department of Police Accountability. "This week, I began turning over the December 3 investigations to the Department of Police Accountability," she said, and described steps her department took to remove and reassign deputies at the affected facility and to gather documents, video and witness statements.

The district attorney's office warned of the risks when administrative and criminal investigations are commingled. "There was not a clear separation between the administrative investigation and the criminal investigation," Christine Duberry told supervisors, and she said that lack of separation contributed to the dismissal of the earlier prosecution. The DA's Independent Investigations Bureau has handled high-profile officer-involved shootings and custody deaths under MOUs with the police department, Duberry said, but the DA does not have an MOU with the Sheriff's Department for inception of criminal investigations.

Paul Henderson, director of the Department of Police Accountability, described DPA procedures, recent reforms that reduced investigations drifting past statutory deadlines, and a roughly 61% rise in complaints to the agency recently. Henderson said DPA can provide professional, independent investigations subject to clear memoranda of understanding that spell out timelines, evidence-sharing and how criminal and administrative streams are kept separate.

Members of the public and several witnesses gave detailed public-comment accounts of alleged abuse, including reports of deputies using batons and tasers during cell shakedowns, forcing people to crawl under bunks, prolonged restraint positions and strip searches performed in the presence of male deputies. Gloria Berry, a former corrections worker, urged a hotline or an independent reporting mechanism so incarcerated people can report abuse.

Supervisors said the committee should pursue systemic changes so that allegations of assault, civil-rights violations, excessive force and in-custody deaths are independently investigated and that consequences are not decided solely by one elected official. The sheriff and DPA said they were already working together, with the sheriff granting permissive authority for DPA to begin reviewing materials this week.

What's next: Committee members said they will work with the city attorney on next steps, including developing MOUs and exploring structural changes to ensure the separation of criminal and administrative investigations and to define who can impose disciplinary outcomes if allegations are sustained.