Board of Supervisors votes 9–2 to consent to mayor’s removal of Police Commissioner Max Carter Overstone after heated public hearing

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9–2 on Feb. 25 to consent to Mayor Daniel Lurie’s request to remove Police Commissioner Max Carter Overstone, concluding a public hearing in which many residents and civil‑rights groups urged the board to reject the mayor’s move.

Max Carter Overstone addressed the board for up to 10 minutes before public comment, saying his work on the commission grew from a personal commitment to independent oversight. “My job is not to become popular with the agency I’m supposed to be overseeing,” Overstone said, describing efforts to hold the San Francisco Police Department accountable for practices he said were unlawful or unjust. He asked supervisors to preserve civilian oversight, warning that removing him would “inflict debilitating harm on our institutions and our system of government.”

Supporters of Overstone filled the chamber for public comment and included civil‑rights groups, victims’ family members and oversight advocates. Yoel Haile of the ACLU of Northern California told the board the ACLU and its 11,000 local members urged a “no” vote, saying Overstone advanced policies—such as limits on pretextual traffic stops—that addressed racial disparities in policing. “Removing a commissioner who has demonstrated independence and integrity would weaken public trust and roll back progress toward true oversight,” Haile said.

Carolyn Goosen of the Public Defender’s Office and other criminal‑justice advocates credited Overstone with shepherding collaborative policy processes and using data to shape reforms. “He is a subject matter expert,” Goosen said. Barbara Tard, a longtime oversight advocate, told the board Overstone’s leadership helped curb abuse and called his removal “shortsighted.”

Speakers who supported the mayor’s request argued the charter grants the mayor authority over mayoral appointees and that the board’s role is advice and consent. In remarks supporting the removal, Supervisor Matt Dorsey said the city charter contemplates mayoral control over appointees to commissions that are not “for‑cause” bodies and framed the vote as honoring the mayor’s prerogative. “Mayor Lurie has earned the right to seek his own appointments,” Dorsey said.

Supervisor Myrna Melgar and Supervisor Jackie Fielder signaled opposition to the removal. Melgar said she would vote no, saying the mayor’s stated reasons—Overstone had been “needlessly confrontational and difficult to work with”—did not meet her threshold for removing a commissioner before the end of a term. Fielder said she opposed removing a commissioner without malfeasance or illegal conduct.

On the roll call, the board recorded nine ayes and two nos; Supervisors Melgar and Fielder voted no. The board’s action consents to the mayoral removal under charter section 4.109; no criminal charges or ethics findings against Overstone were cited in the hearing record. The removal takes effect consistent with the charter and the mayor’s notice to the clerk.

The hearing and vote amplified a longer debate in San Francisco about the balance between mayoral authority and independent civilian oversight. Many speakers warned that approving the mayor’s request would chill independent oversight and undermine reforms achieved under previous review processes; others said a newly elected mayor should be able to select commissioners aligned with administration priorities.

The board moved on after the vote to other pending items on the agenda.