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Rules Committee forwards reappointment of Police Commissioner to full Board
Summary
The Rules Committee unanimously forwarded a recommendation to reappoint Commissioner Julius Terman to the full San Francisco Board of Supervisors, following remarks about his work on disciplinary processes, training and community outreach and multiple public endorsements.
The Rules Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on a unanimous voice motion voted to forward a reappointment of Police Commissioner Julius Terman to the full Board for consideration at its next meeting.
The committee heard a statement from the commissioner on his four years on the Police Commission, including work revising departmental general orders, chairing the committee that considered TASERs, and clearing a backlog of disciplinary cases. The commissioner told the committee he prioritizes community involvement, language-access initiatives and expanded training, saying the city must "elicit these voices" and build "trusting relationships between community and police." He described recent implicit-bias training for command staff conducted by the Human Rights Commission and said the department hopes to expand that training to the entire force "before the end of this year." He also expressed support for wider Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training.
Committee members praised the commissioner’s record and asked how to strengthen community policing. Supervisor Malia Cohen said she would support the reappointment and urged that the commission be empowered to require full attendance at implicit-bias training, saying, "So you either are in it or you're not in it." Vice Chair Katie Tang asked about the timing for trainings; the commissioner reiterated the leadership-level sessions are the first step and described plans to broaden instruction through command staff.
Public comment was strongly in favor of the commissioner. Tom (Tip) Mazzuco urged the supervisors to reappoint him, calling him "an incredible, honorable man" and praising his legal skills. Reverend Amos Brown said the commissioner "embodies character" and urged continuity amid national scrutiny of policing. Police Commission President Susie Loftus told the committee, "I need Julius Terman on the commission," citing his legal expertise in closed-session disciplinary matters. Speakers representing the Officers for Justice, the San Francisco Police Officers Association, retired department leaders and community organizations likewise endorsed reappointment.
Supervisor Malia Cohen moved to reappoint the commissioner to vacancy number 1, with a positive recommendation to the full Board as a committee report; Vice Chair Katie Tang seconded and Chair John Avalos signaled agreement. The committee agreed to forward the item to the Board of Supervisors agenda for May 19. The committee adjourned with the appointment slated for the full Board vote the following day.
The transcript contains inconsistent spellings of the commissioner's surname (appearing in the record as variants including "Derman," "Turman," "Terman" and "Thurman"). This article uses the spelling used repeatedly in public endorsements in the record, and notes the transcript variability in the provenance.
