SF supervisors reject mayor's pick for police commission
FILE ART - Nancy Tung ran unsuccessfully for San Francisco District Attorney.
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco supervisors on Tuesday rejected a candidate chosen by Mayor London Breed to serve on the city's Police Commission.
Back in April, Breed announced she'd picked both Deputy District Attorney Nancy Tung and attorney Geoffrey Gordon-Creed to serve on the seven-member commission -- the body tasked with setting policies and conducting hearings for the Police Department.
However, since a hearing last week at the supervisors' Rules Committee in which the committee chose to reject both of Breed's choices, Gordon-Creed dropped out of the running.
During Tuesday's meeting supervisors voted 10-1 in favor of rejecting Tung's nomination, with Supervisor Catherine Stefanie against the measure.
Several supervisors who voted to reject Tung's nomination cited answers from Tung's hearing last week, including her stance on whether officers in fatal officer-involved shootings should be criminally prosecuted and her stance on the use of Tasers.
The decision to reject Tung's nomination comes as residents have overwhelmingly been calling on supervisors to choose Police Commission candidates with proven track records of leading police reform efforts, in the wake of nationwide protests prompted by the death of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, at the hands of police.
"I opposed the appointments of both individuals because at this moment in history I believe we must heed the calls of the millions of people on the street, literally begging for radical change in how this country polices its residents and especially its black residents," Supervisor Hillary Ronen said.
Supervisor Shamann Walton said, "I do not see a history of fighting for justice reform or fighting for communities of color on this panel. That is very problematic for me."
Stefanie, who is also part of the Rules Committee, said she came to her decision to support Tung after having personal talks with Breed.
She called Breed's previous Police Commission picks, Damali Taylor and Dion-Jay Brookter, "extremely thoughtful, capable additions to the body."
In a statement, Tung said she wasn't surprised by the vote.
"While we are in a moment of great unrest and an examination of police brutality, I think it is important to give voice to all marginalized communities, especially when the Board of Supervisors have themselves failed to use a Police Commission appointment to give the Chinese community a seat at the table," she said. "I have 20 years of experience as a prosecutor and would have been the only member of the Police Commission to have criminally prosecuted law enforcement officers."
She added: "I am disappointed with this outcome and that the Chinese community continues to be voiceless on the Police Commission. But, I will keep fighting for smarter public safety policies, women, the Chinese and greater API community, and for the substantive Obama era reforms recommended in 2016 that still need to be implemented."