Police Chief George Gascon wants more authority to discipline or exonerate cops accused of misconduct

"They're agreeing to it [using hearing officers] now because it builds in a huge delay," Hammer said.

Chan wants to convince officers that quickly airing a hearing is just as likely to exonerate them as to create a headache, long suspension, or termination. Hicks, Chan, and Hammer all agreed that the value of civilian oversight of the SFPD outweighed slow, sometimes messy system. "The overwhelming majority of police officers are conscientious, hard-working public servants," Hammer said. "The overwhelming majority of cops and citizens have a strong interest in making sure the few bad apples are weeded out."