Feisty San Francisco Police Commission meeting over severing DA contract
San Francisco police commission meeting takes on future use-of-force investigations
A San Francisco Police Commission meeting is going late into the night Wednesday. At the center of discussion is who will be in charge of future police use-of-force investigations following recent fallout between the SFPD chief and the city's district attorney.
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott defended his recent decision to terminate an investigative agreement between his department and the San Francisco District Attorney's Office during a police commission meeting Wednesday.
The agreement, or memorandum of understanding, between the agencies went into effect in July 2021 and allows the district attorney's Independent Investigations Bureau to respond to crime scenes and investigate officer-involved shootings, in-custody deaths and use of force cases.
Scott moved to terminate the agreement Feb. 2 following testimony by a district attorney's office investigator in the ongoing criminal case against Officer Terrance Stangel.
The investigator said under oath that she felt pressured to mislead police and withhold evidence from a sworn affidavit out of fear of losing her job.
MORE: SF police excessive force case that caused fight between DA, chief begins
Officer Terrance Stangel's trial for alleged beating of San Francisco suspect gets underway
Opening statements began Monday in the San Francisco police abuse trial against Terrance Stangel. The officer is accused of beating Dacari Spiers in a case that's caused a larger political fight between district attorney Chesa Boudin and police Chief Bill Scott.
In that case, Stangel has been charged with battery, assault with a deadly weapon, assault likely to cause great bodily injury and assault under color of authority in connection with an October 2019 encounter with Dacari Spiers, an unarmed Black man. Stangel and another officer initially responded to a report of a man choking a woman in the city's Fisherman's Wharf area and, once at the scene, a struggle ensued between Spiers and the officers.
During the encounter, Stangel allegedly struck Spiers' legs with a baton several times, resulting in Spiers suffering a broken leg and wrist, as well as lacerations to his leg.
Stangel is the first on-duty officer in the city's history to be tried in court for such crimes. In his reason for terminating the agreement, Scott accused District Attorney Chesa Boudin and his office of intentionally concealing information and evidence from police during investigations into officer misconduct.
During Wednesday's police commission meeting, Scott said he was still committed to independent investigations but said an ongoing pattern of noncompliance with the agreement's terms by the district attorney's office has "catastrophically damaged confidence" among the police department.
Several commissioners expressed disappointment in Scott's decision.
"I felt that you had directly attacked this commission's authority by issuing a withdrawal from the MOU without consulting us," said Commissioner John Hamasaki said. "The problem came because you blindsided us."
Hamasaki added, "You had to know that issuing a press release and sending it out to the media while this trial was going on is going to get in front of San Franciscans and is going to get in front of jurors. To me that seemed pretty intentional to influence the jurors and to suggest that the District Attorney's Office couldn't be trusted."
Scott denied any ulterior motives and said the Police Department simply reached a "breaking point" after hearing the recent testimony. "I don't care about being like and I've made some very difficult decisions here," Scott said. "I'm here to do a job."
Scott and District Attorney Chesa Boudin met earlier in the day to discuss the agreement and plan to continue to discuss the matter in the coming days.
Scott said the office of California General Attorney Rob Bonta has agreed to sit down with the two to help mediate.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Boudin called in.
"The first I've heard of most of the allegations against my office, including many that occurred under a prior administration, has been in the press and in this hearing tonight. That's frustrating," Boudin said. "I don't go to the press. I call the chief to try and work it out and we've had a pretty good open channel of communication, until last week.
"The decision to withdraw is a massive violation of public trust and a huge step backward in police reform and police accountability," Boudin said. "I agree the MOU needs clarification and I welcome that process."