SF Safe leader fired after audit reveals misuse of taxpayer funds from police
SAN FRANCISCO - SF Safe Executive Director Kyra Worthy is out of a job after being terminated by the non-profit’s board of directors on Wednesday, according to the group’s attorney Dylan Hackett, "for misuse of funds and other banking discrepancies."
"Sadly, another episode of the misuse of taxpayer funds," Aaron Peskin, who serves as President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, told KTVU.
SF Safe receives funding from San Francisco Police Department to organize community outreach events, including crime education, coffee with a cop, and neighborhood watch.
Peskin described the allegations as shameful and embarrassing.
"Speaks to a very unfortunate and cozy relationship between the police department and SF Safe, with lavish parties, misuse of transportation, bashes in South Lake Tahoe, all on taxpayers’ dime."
Peskin requested an audit through the San Francisco City and County Controller.
"That showed that all of the police department’s accounting practices were out of whack, that they were approving over $3.8 million in invoices without any backup documentation," Peskin said.
The audit reveals that from July 2022 through March 2023, SF Safe spent nearly $80,000 on ineligible expenses, including $36,000 on luxury gift boxes, $21,000 on parking expenses in the Bay Area, that trip to Tahoe with a limo included, cost more than $14,000, and nearly $6,000 was spent on Uber and Lyft in the Bay Area.
"Our police department did not have adequate safeguards in place to ensure that the money that it was granting was spent in an appropriate manner," Max Carter-Oberstone, Vice President of the San Francisco Police Commission, told KTVU.
The attorney for SF Safe told KTVU, despite the allegations, the organization is not suspending operations.
"It is mind-boggling. It’s a system set up specifically designed not to detect malfeasance," Carter-Oberstone said. "I believe that SFPD leadership needs to be prepared to answer questions."
KTVU reached out to the police department for a response but did not hear back Wednesday night.
Supervisor Peskin wants to find out if SF Safe actually provided the services they were hired to provide, which he said hasn’t even been investigated yet.
The audit only sampled $900,000 worth of expenses, out of the $5 million in grant money, so the audit suggests the actual amount that was misused is most likely significantly higher, dating back five years.
Supervisor Peskin believes this will lead to criminal charges.
The police commission could hold a hearing on SF Safe as early as February 7, at their next meeting.