Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the DGO Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Police Commission approves updated DGO 6.07 on vicious and dangerous dog complaints
Summary
The commission voted unanimously to approve revisions to Department General Order 6.07 on vicious and dangerous dog complaints, modernizing definitions and hearing procedures for the first comprehensive update since 1994.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Police Commission on March 12 approved revisions to Department General Order (DGO) 6.07, which governs how the department handles vicious and dangerous dog complaints.
Officer Greg Sutherland, who identified himself as SFPD's vicious and dangerous dog officer and the subject-matter expert on the update, told the commission the DGO had not been revised since 1994. The package adds a definitions section, reorganizes the policy by levels of severity (from unleashed to vicious dogs), clarifies the hearing process and detailed hearing orders, and specifies procedures for complaints that fall outside SFPD enforcement authority.
Commissioners moved and seconded the action, there was no public comment on the item, and the commission recorded a roll-call vote with four yeses. President Elias and commissioners voted to approve the revised DGO.
Officer Sutherland said the goal was to provide updated guidance for patrol officers and the Vicious and Dangerous Dog Unit (VDDU) when responding to these incidents. The commission celebrated removing an outdated 1990s-era DGO from its work list and encouraged continued modernization across pending DGOs.
Next steps: The approved DGO will proceed through required labor and administrative steps as the department meets-and-confers with affected bargaining units.
