Controlling cowboy cops

EVERYONE WHO WORKS in the law enforcement world in San Francisco knows there's virtually no chance a local jury will return a death penalty verdict, even in a case involving a cop killer. And anyone who was paying any attention knows all three major candidates for district attorney last fall, including the relatively conservative Bill Fazio, pledged never to seek the death penalty. So why have the leaders of the San Francisco Police Officers Association been making such a huge fuss about their demand that D.A. Kamala Harris seek the ultimate sanction for the killer of Officer Isaac Espinoza? Why have they held press conferences, marched on City Hall, and gone so far as to try to get Harris to turn the case over to Attorney General Bill Lockyer?

Simple: the POA is used to getting its way in this town – and the politically active cops are furious the D.A. isn't doing what they tell her to. They aren't just interested in punishing the killer; they want to punish Harris too.

The entire fuss is a classic example of what's wrong with the way the San Francisco Police Department is managed by the civilians who are charged with its oversight. And it represents the central challenge the new Police Commission needs to take on – immediately.

For far too long, the police department has been one of the sacred cows of local politics. No mayor has been willing to challenge or question the way the department is run, and no commission has been willing to hold the chief and top brass accountable. So there's a climate of tolerance for police behavior that ranges from the brutal to the unprofessional. Just look at a few examples from recent years: There's the Fajitagate case (in which it's quite clear that three off-duty cops who'd had too much to drink attacked two civilians on the street – and the top brass covered it up), which has so far resulted in absolutely no sanctions or discipline for any senior police officials. There's the John Tennison case, in which two homicide cops framed two young African American men for a murder they didn't commit (see "Innocent!," 9/3/03) – and both cops remained on the force, one serving as chief, until they retired with full benefits. There's the Idriss Stelley case, in which a horde of cops stormed a theater and shot to death a young man who they knew was mentally disturbed (see "The Tragedy of Idriss Stelley," 4/30/02). Stelley's mother got a large financial settlement from the city, but the cops involved are still on the streets.

The list, sadly, goes on and on. In fact, we saw a troubling addition last week: police officers attending a court hearing in the case of the accused cop killer reportedly hissed audibly when Harris entered the courtroom. That's shoddy, disrespectful stuff, and the chief should have informed the officers that they would face disciplinary action.

But Chief Heather Fong, who is known as a reformer, did no such thing. In fact, Fong has been far too complacent about the problems in the department and is acting as if she's intimidated by the POA and the cowboy cops too.

Proposition H, the police-reform measure that passed in November 2003, was aimed directly at these sorts of problems. Among other things, it expanded the Police Commission to seven members and split the appointments between the mayor (four) and the Board of Supervisors (three). Unfortunately, as Steven T. Jones and Sitara Nieves report on page 17, Mayor Gavin Newsom's appointments have given activists little confidence that real change is coming – and the supervisors, who approved all of Newsom's panelists, have left the city with a commission that could well have a pro-POA, anti-reform majority.

That would be disastrous. At a time when the rogue cops are freely pushing their agenda, and the mayor and the chief seem unwilling to challenge them openly, the new commission badly needs to send a message that business as usual is over. Among the changes the new panel needs to make immediately:

Start taking civilian oversight, and citizen complaints, seriously The Office of Citizen Complaints is routinely stymied by a culture of lax discipline and a willingness on the part of the chief and the commission to tolerate police misconduct. Cops who commit serious, violent offenses should be fired – period. Lesser infractions should be met with clear, consistent penalties – and repeat offenders (a small number of bad cops are responsible for an inordinate share of the department's problems) should be quickly removed from the force.

Expand the early-warning system The department's program to identify problem cops before they do serious damage is far too limited. It's based only on complaints; in other cities, factors like officer-involved shootings, resisting-arrest cases, and motions to suppress evidence are also used.

Reform training and promotion practices and protect whistle-blowers S.F. cops are sent into community policing jobs with no real training in dealing with complex community issues – and clearly lack training in handling mentally ill people. Equally important, cops with long records of misconduct charges still get promoted. The department also needs clear, strong whistle-blower protections: cops who report misconduct should be given awards and promotions, not ostracized and reassigned.

Take a hard look at the budget The police and fire departments are San Francisco's equivalent of the Pentagon and the CIA: vast amounts of money disappear into the operations every year, and nobody ever wants to question how they're spent. The commission is the first stop for the SFPD budget, and there ought to be commission hearings and some tough questions for the chief. Why are a few cops getting so much overtime? Why are uniformed officers, making high salaries, doing clerical work? Why are there so many high-ranking (and high-paid) senior staffers? Why can't the SFPD take budget cuts like every other department?

Eliminate the climate of secrecy There are strict state laws that limit how much information about police misconduct cases can be made public – but the department and commission have gone far beyond the legal rules and make every effort to keep everything out of public view. The OCC director and staff should be encouraged to speak publicly about discipline problems. Internal department cases should be made public as soon as legally possible.

Treat the public with respect People who appear before the Police Commission with complaints often feel ignored at best. The commissioners need to pay attention to public comments – and respond and follow up.

The next few months will be a huge test of whether S.F.'s new commission can make real changes.