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Rules Committee recommends two mayoral Police Commission nominees after lengthy questioning on reform, bias and tasers
Summary
After hours of testimony and public comment, the Rules Committee voted to forward Mayor's nominations of Damali Taylor and Deonjay Brookter to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation; questioning focused on Department of Justice reforms, implicit-bias training, disciplinary processes, taser policy and recruitment of San Francisco residents.
The Rules Committee considered Items 3 and 4, the mayor's nominations of Damali Taylor and Deonjay ("DJ") Brookter to the San Francisco Police Commission. Both nominees gave opening statements describing their backgrounds and priorities: Damali Taylor, an attorney who has served as both a federal prosecutor and defense lawyer, emphasized victims' advocacy and restoring community trust; Deonjay Brookter described his nonprofit and workforce-development work, including programs at Young Community Developers and the Southeast Community Facility Commission, and emphasized community engagement and implementing DOJ recommendations.
Extensive public comment followed: dozens of community leaders, union representatives, colleagues and family members offered endorsements for both nominees, citing experience with housing, workforce development, youth programs and public safety. Some public speakers urged broader community representation; one commenter questioned whether Brookter is sufficiently rooted in the Southeast neighborhoods.
Supervisors pressed both nominees on how they would implement Department of Justice recommendations (including implicit-bias training and changes to hiring and promotion), manage disciplinary matters, and approach policies on tasers and officer mental health. Supervisor Norman Yee and Supervisor Catherine Stephanie asked detailed, on-record questions about logging community engagement hours, improving recruitment of San Francisco residents, creating metrics for promotions and ensuring that meet-and-confer processes do not stall reform. Both nominees said they would prioritize implicit-bias training, interagency collaboration on mental-health responses, transparency about meet-and-confer topics, and stronger community policing.
Supervisor Yee moved to recommend both nominees with positive recommendation to the full board; the committee approved the motion and will forward a committee report to the full Board of Supervisors for final confirmation.
