Meeting called to order at 2:03 pm. Pledge of Allegiance.
Announcement on remote public comment.

ROLL CALL

PRESENT: Afuhaamango, Brookter (2:11 pm), Carrion, Nguyen, Soo, Secretary Leung
NOT PRESENT: Palmer, Wechter

Motion to excuse Member Palmer and Member Wechter by Vice President Carrion, seconded by Member Afuhaamango. Unanimously approved.

A quorum of the Board was present.

ADOPTION OF MINUTES

Motion to approve the Minutes from the February 2, 2024, regular meeting, by Member Nguyen, seconded by Member Afuhaamango.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

Vote to adopt the minutes of February 2, 2024:
AYES: Afuhaamango, Carrion, Nguyen, Soo
NAYS: None
Motion passes and approved unanimously. Minutes of February 2, 2024, are adopted.

INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT

Inspector General Terry Wiley gave a report on what he and the Office of Inspector General have been doing since onboarding.

Questions and comments from Vice President Carrion, President Soo, Member Nguyen, and Member Brookter.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC DEFENDENDER’S OFFICE PRESENTATION

Angela Chan, Assistant Chief Attorney, from the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, gave an overview of the SF Public Defender’s Office, and presented on the clients they serve, and their experiences with jail conditions and legal visits in the jails.

Questions and comments from Member Afuhaamango, Member Brookter, Vice President Carrion, President Soo, and Member Nguyen.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

SAN FRANCISCO SHERIFF’S OFFICE PRESENTATION

Lisette Adams, Chief Deputy, presented on SFSO’s custody division.

Questions from Vice President Carrion, Member Brookter, due to time constraints, any other questions for Chief Adams may be emailed to the secretary who shall forward to Chief Adams.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY PRESENTATION

Line item continued to a future meeting.

AMENDMENT TO SF CHARTER 4,137 LANGUAGE

Deputy City Attorney Jana Clark gave a general advisement on amending charter language.

Open discussion by Member Brookter, President Soo, Vice President Carrion, Member Afuhaamango, and Member Nguyen.

Motion to:
1) change the name of the board to Board of Sheriff Oversight (BSO)
2) change (a) (5) to 20 hours of training in 180 days
3) remove suggestion in (e) (1)
4) add any deputy-involved shootings and substitute any SFSO-related injury or death to "the death of any individual in the custody of the SFSD" in (e)(2).
5) remove suggestion in (e) (7)
6) remove HPPA suggestion in (g)
7) difference of opinion in including ‘San Francisco’ in (h), need legislative sponsor to resolve.
8) President Soo will incorporate the changes and submit to the secretary and the deputy city attorney until a sponsor is confirmed. The DCA will work with the legislative sponsor on the amended language.
by Vice President Carrion, seconded by President Soo.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

Vote on motion to amend language as stated above:
AYES: Carrion, Nguyen, Soo
NAYS: Afuhaamango, Brookter
Having no majority of the Board seats (7) necessary to adopt an action item, the motion fails and is not adopted.

AMEND SDOB RULES OF ORDER 1.14

Line item continued to a future meeting.

FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

Line item continued to a future meeting.

GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

None. 

ADJOURNMENT

All those in favor voted AYE. No NAYS.

Meeting adjourned at 5:09 pm.

Dan Leung
Commission Secretary
Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board

Minutes edited by President Julie D. Soo

Full video recording may be accessed at:
https://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/player/clip/45570?view_id=223&redirect=true 

Meeting called to order at 2:10 pm. Pledge of Allegiance. Announcement on remote public comment.

ROLL CALL

PRESENT: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Nguyen, Soo, Wechter, Acting Secretary Leung
NOT PRESENT: Carrion, Palmer

Motion to excuse Member Palmer by Member Brookter, seconded by Member Afuhaamango. Motion unanimously approved.

A quorum of the Board was present.

ADOPTION OF MINUTES

Motion to approve the Minutes from the January 5, 2024, regular meeting by Member Brookter, seconded by Member Afuhaamango.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

Vote to adopt the minutes of January 5, 2024:
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Nguyen, Soo, Wechter
NAYS: None
Motion passes and approved unanimously. Minutes of January 5, 2024, are adopted.

INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

The Board welcomed Terry Wiley, Inspector General from the Office of the Inspector General wherein IG Wiley introduced himself to the Board and the public.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

PRESENTATION FROM THE PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE

Line item continued.

PRESENTATION FROM THE RE-ENTRY COMMUNITY

Cedric Akbar, Executive Director of Positive Directions Equals Change, Inc., spoke on services and programs his agency offers, city departments, told his personal story, and what services he feels are necessary upon re-entry.

Maggie Rivera, intensive re-entry case manager, told us her story and why she does what she does for reentry of formerly incarcerated individuals.

Joanna Hernandez, service provider at the Latino Task Force, and mother of an incarcerated individual, spoke of lack of services in the jails and advocates for rehabilitation.

Dakota Rose Austin, a trans parolee, spoke about her experience in the jails and lack of services for trans population in the jails and reentry programs.

Joshua Jacobo, service provider at the county jail, spoke of the reopening of the annex and lack of services in the jails, and limiting services.

Greta Garcia, with Reset Justice Collaborative for BACR in SF, voices frustration with the lack of rehabilitation services and programs, human rights violations in the jails, and hiring culturally unresponsive individuals.

Comments and questions from Member Afuhaamango, Member Nguyen, Member Wechter, Member Brookter, and President Soo.

PUBLIC COMMENT:
Silvie Pagan, intensive case manager with Community Work West, and works with the Nova Violence Alliance Project, said there are concerns and challenges doing the work. Asks to support Latinos in reentry. She and Jose Gomez, who is also part of the Nova project will be starting a Latino program. Wants to see more programs to help them thrive and stop recidivism.

Bianca Sanchez, with Bay Area Community Resources, program manager for the Roadmap to Peace Initiative, sees less access for community partners to go inside the jails and provide services to incarcerated individuals. Wants to know what the plan is to collaborate with the community to be part of the reentry process and plans, plans for community partners to go in (the jails) and provide services and programs. They want to provide effective intervention treatments and rehabilitation services to break the cycles of incarceration.

Victoria Reminick, senior case manager for the Roadmap to Peace through Bay Area Community Resource, has not seen referrals coming in from Nuevos Destinos program, which provides monolingual Spanish speakers with services they need, such as case managers and trauma informed care; in an effort to stop recidivism and help improve racial equity for the LatinX population. Asked for consideration to continue funding these programs.

Araceli Garcia Murcia, senior case manager with Reset Justice Collaborative, works with and advocates for at risk youth from 14yo-26yo. Spoke of the treatment of monolingual individuals, who lack resources for mental health. Basic needs are not being met inside the jail system, including prenatal programs. Did work for pretrial and had 250-300 caseloads that were fentanyl cases.

Jose Hernandez, program director for Central American Resource Center’s Second Chance Youth Program and tattoo removal clinic. Works with youths between 14yo and 20yo, for prevention, reentry work, and aftercare. The majority of the population in the annex are LatinX, which is a seismic life hazard. It is not the fault of these specific groups but a failed institution. Racial profiling practices continue.

BREAK: 3:17 pm to 3:25 pm

The Board received notice that Vice President Carrion was unable to attend today’s meeting. Motion to excuse Vice President Carrion by Member Brookter, seconded by Member Afuhaamango. Motion approved unanimously.

QUARTERLY AND ANNUAL REPORT

Open discussion by President Soo.

Discussion on the Annual Report by Member Wechter, President Soo, Member Brookter, and Member Afuhaamango.

Discussion moved to Q4 report.

Motion by Member Wechter to attach the minutes to the Q4 report. No second. Motion is moot.

Discussion on Q4 report by President Soo.

Motion to approve the Q4 report with the added language that minutes and video are available on the website by Member Brookter, seconded by Member Afuhaamango.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

Vote to approve the Q4 report with the added language that the minutes and videos are available on the website:
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Nguyen, Soo
NAYS: Wechter
Motion is approved by majority vote. The Q4 report with the additional language is approved.

Continued discussion on the Annual Report by Member Afuhaamango, President Soo, and Member Wechter.

Motion to approve the Annual Report with the amended language and with the minutes attached by Member Wechter. No second. Motion is moot.

Motion to approve the Annual Report with the amendment of January 2023 to “President Jayson Wechter presented job descriptions, and salaries from other jurisdictions”, and that the minutes and video are available on the website by Member Brookter, seconded by Member Afuhaamango.

PUBLIC COMMENT:
Terry Fill, stated not to waste everybody’s time.

Vote to approve the Annual Report with the amended language:
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Nguyen, Soo, Wechter
NAYS: None
Motion is approved unanimously. The Annual Report with the amended language is approved.

SDOB 2024 PRIORITIES, TASKS, AND BENCHMARKS

Open discussion by President Soo, Member Afuhaamango, Member Brookter, Member Wechter, and Member Nguyen.

Change the year from 2023 to 2024 on the report is noted.

Motion to accept the Priorities, Tasks, and Benchmarks with the additional request from Member Wechter of “report on litigation against the Sheriff’s Office, types of lawsuits, settlements, and adverse judgments” by Member Brookter, seconded by Member Afuhaamango.

PUBLIC COMMENT:
Terry Fill, the Board’s priority is responsibility and critical thinking.

Joanna Hernandez asks about budget and paying 8420’s which are connected to visiting – visitors, including children.

Maggie Rivera, works in custody, 8420’s are the rehabilitation staff who are civilians. Also known as “a deputy without a badge.” People are fearful of the 8420 staff to help programs maneuver through the jail system.

Vote on the motion to approve the Priorities, Tasks, and Benchmarks with the added request by Member Wechter:
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Nguyen, Soo, Wechter
NAYS: None
Motion is approved unanimously. The 2024 Priorities, Tasks, and Benchmarks is approved.

AMEND SDOB RULES OF ORDER 1.14

Open discussion by President Soo, Member Wechter, Member Brookter, Member Afuhaamango, and Member Nguyen.

Motion to change the request to 12 calendar days prior to the meeting by Member Wechter, seconded by Member Afuhaamango.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

Vote on motion to change the request to 12 calendar days prior to the meeting:
AYES: Afuhaamango, Wechter
NAYS: Brookter, Nguyen, Soo
Having no quorum of votes, the motion does not pass.

Motion to change the request to 15 calendar days prior to the meeting by Member Brookter, seconded by President Soo.
Vote on motion to change the request to 15 calendar days prior to the meeting:
AYES: Brookter, Nguyen, Soo
NAYS: Afuhaamango, Wechter
Having no quorum of votes, the motion does not pass.

Motion to continue this line item to the next meeting by President Soo, seconded by Member Brookter.
Vote on motion to continue this line item:
AYES; Afuhaamango, Brookter, Nguyen, Soo, Wechter
NAYS: None
Motion passes. Agenda line item is continued to the next meeting.

FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

Member Afuhaamango wants to discuss the rehiring of Scott New, the former deputy that was responsible for the fight club scandal and costly settlements.

Comments by President Soo.

SFSO Counsel, Margaret Baumgartner, responded that this was a personnel matter and cannot be discussed in public.
Questions asked:
What administrative investigations actions, criminal investigation actions, and Fifth Amendment rights were conducted in the past and how they are conducted now.
Is there a procedure for recertification of deputies? Has it been used? How many times?

GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

Joanna Hernandez, parent of an incarcerated individual, runs a support group called Family’s Understanding the System where they all have loved ones in jail. They are mothers, grandparents, wives, etc. The rehiring of the fight club scandal was the scariest thing to wake up to. Asked that meetings are moved to the community.

Terry Fill, he doesn’t care who we are, where you come from, the skies don’t care, what matters is what you do. In order to be happy, you need to do the right things. Nothing’s free. You will have to pay for what you do. There is no escape, nowhere to hide anymore.

ADJOURNMENT

All those in favor voted AYE. No NAYS.

Meeting was adjourned at 4:40 pm.

Dan Leung
Legal Assistant
Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board

Full video recording may be accessed at:
https://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/player/clip/45328?view_id=223&redirect=true&h=e05637d457cbda08caa65d42be78ec00 

Meeting called to order at 2:09 pm. Pledge of Allegiance.
Announcement on remote public comment.

ROLL CALL

PRESENT: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Carrion, Nguyen (at 2:16 pm), Soo, Wechter, Acting Secretary Leung
NOT PRESENT: Palmer

A quorum of the Board was present.

Motion to excuse Member Palmer by Vice President Carrion, seconded by Member Brookter. Unanimously approved.

President Soo requests to continue agenda line item 7. Quarterly and Annual Report and line item 8. SDOB 2024 Priorities, Tasks and Benchmarks.
Discussion by President Soo and Vice President Carrion.

Motion to continue agenda line item 7 and line item 8 by Vice President Carrion, seconded by Member Brookter.

Vote on motion to continue line item 7 and line item 8:
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Carrion, Soo, Wechter
NAY: None
Motion to continue agenda line item 7. Quarterly and Annual Report and line item 8. SDOB 2024 Priorities, Tasks and Benchmarks approved and passes. Lines item 7 & 8 are continued to a future meeting

IN MEMORIAM

The Board recognizes and commemorates Oakland Police Officer Tuan Le whose end of watch was December 29, 2023, at 8:44 am.

Comments from President Soo.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

ADOPTION OF MINUTES

Motion to approve the minutes from the Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board Regular Meeting held on December 1, 2023, by Vice President Carrion, seconded by Member Afuhaamango.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

Vote to adopt the minutes of December 1, 2023:
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Carrion, Soo
NAYS: Wechter
Motion approved and passes by majority vote. Minutes of December 1, 2023, are adopted.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

Discussion by President Soo, Member Wechter, and Vice President Carrion.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

SAN FRANCISCO SHERIFF’S OFFICE (SFSO) REPORT

Undersheriff Katherine Johnson appeared and presented on operations, budget, staffing, and how complaints are handled, from intake to investigations, review by the Undersheriff, and disciplinary action as warranted. Currently, serious complaints are investigated by DPA, and report findings are turned over to the Undersheriff.

Questions from Vice President Carrion, Member Wechter, Member Afuhaamango, Member Brookter, and President Soo.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY (DPA) PRESENTATION

Alexandra Schulteis, Director of Mediation at DPA, appeared and gave a presentation on the mediation process DPA uses for possible adoption by the Office of the Inspector General.

Questions from Vice President Carrion, Member Afuhaamango, Member Nguyen, Member Wechter, Member Brookter, and President Soo.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

SDA-OIG AND SDOB BUDGET

Nicole Armstrong, Chief Operating Officer, from DPA appeared and gave an update on the SDA-OIG & SDOB budget for FY24 and FY25 after the Mayor’s latest budget cuts.

Questions from Vice President Carrion, Member Afuhaamango, and Member Wechter.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

Discussion by President Soo, Member Afuhaamango, Member Brookter, and Vice President Carrion.

Future agenda items:
Review Q4 and 2023 Annual Report, continued line item 7.
Review SDOB 2024 Priorities, Tasks, and Benchmarks, continued line item 8.
Review and prioritize previously discussed future agenda items.
Review and prioritize previously solicited Board Member priority items as provided at November's regular meeting.

President Soo noted that in drafting the SDOB 2024 Timeline – Tasks and Benchmarks, she used both previously
discussed future agenda items and Board member priority items as a guideline.

Motion that all board members provide any requests for the sheriff or DPA, three weeks in advance, to the requested presentation, as well as agenda items at a minimum of three weeks to the board secretary by Vice President Carrion.

DCA Clark recommends continuing the motion due to SDOB Rules of Order 1.14. Any change to the Rules of Order requires 10 days’ notice.

Vice President withdraws the motion, and requests that it be continued to the next meeting.

President Soo requests any agenda items be submitted to the secretary a week prior to the meeting to adhere to SDOB Rules of Order 1.14.

Member Brookter requested for the 2024 Timeline – Tasks and Benchmarks that topic items be broken out to provide a simple list that shows priorities / categories previously provided by individual members.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

ADJOURNMENT

All those in favor voted AYE. No NAYS.

Meeting was adjourned at 4.37 pm.

Dan Leung
Legal Assistant
Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board

Full video recording may be accessed at:
https://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/player/clip/45138?view_id=223&redirect=true&h=93edf4ce00ab64919170c6bba0d9084d 

Meeting called to order at 2:04 pm. Pledge of Allegiance. Announcement on remote public comment.

ROLL CALL

PRESENT: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Nguyen, Soo, Wechter (at 2:14pm), Acting Secretary Leung
NOT PRESENT: Carrion, Palmer

A quorum of the Board was present.

Motion to excuse Vice President Carrion and Member Palmer by Member Brookter, seconded by Member Afuhaamango. Unanimously approved.

ADOPTION OF MINUTES

Motion to approve the Minutes from the November 3, 2023 meeting by Member Brookter, seconded by Member Afuhaamango.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

Vote to adopt the minutes of November 3, 2023:
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Nguyen, Soo
NAYS: None
Motion passes and approved. Minutes of November 3, 2023, are adopted.

SHERIFF’S OFFICE REPORT

Nick Gregoratos, Melinda Benson, and Asia Harrington from the Sheriff’s Office Prisoner Legal Services (PLS) Department appeared and presented on what PLS does for incarcerated individuals.

Questions from Member Wechter, Member Brookter, Member Afuhaamango, and President Soo.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

DEPARTMENT OF POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY (DPA) PRESENTATION

Erick Baltazar, Chief Investigator for DPA, appeared and gave a presentation on how investigations are handled when received by DPA.

Questions from Member Nguyen, Member Brookter, Member Afuhaamango, and President Soo.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

QUARTERLY REPORT

Discussion and review of the draft reports for submission to the Sheriff’s Office and the Board of Supervisors pursuant to SF Charter 4.137 by Member Wechter, Member Afuhaamango, Member Brookter, and President Soo.

Motion to adopt the posted Q3 report with the change to add “San Francisco Sheriff’s Office (SFSO)” before County Jail #3 and “SFSO” before jail conditions under SDOB Community Outreach by Member Brookter, seconded by Member Afuhaamango.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

Vote on Motion to adopt the posted Q3 report with the change to add “San Francisco Sheriff’s Office (SFSO)” before County Jail #3 and “SFSO” before jail conditions under SDOB Community Outreach
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Nguyen, Soo
NAYS: Wechter
Motion is adopted by majority vote.

Motion to adopt the remaining posted Q3 report with no further changes by Member Brookter, seconded by Member Afuhaamango.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

Vote on Motion to adopt the remaining posted Q3 report with no further changes by Member Brookter, seconded by Member Afuhaamango.
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Nguyen, Soo
NAYS: Wechter
Motion adopted by majority vote.

RESCHEDULING 2024 SDOB REGULAR MEETINGS

Motion to keep regular meeting schedule as the first Fridays of every month in 2024 by Member Brookter, seconded by Member Afuhaamango.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

Vote to keep meetings on the first Friday of the month for 2024:
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Nguyen, Soo, Wechter
NAYS: None
Motion passes. SDOB meetings shall remain on the first Fridays of the month for 2024

FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

Discussion and suggestions by President Soo, Member Afuhaamango, Member Wechter, and Member Brookter.

Future agenda items suggested:
1. SFSO Undersheriff presentation in January
2. DPA Mediation presentation
3. Budget hearings
4. SF Public Defender Office presentation in February
5. Press release on IG announcement
6. 2024 Calendar with benchmarks

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

None. 

ADJOURNMENT

All those in favor voted AYE. No NAYS.

Meeting was adjourned at 3:41 pm.

Dan Leung
Legal Assistant
Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board
Approved on January 5, 2024, by majority vote

Full video recording may be accessed at:
https://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/player/clip/44970?view_id=223&redirect=true&h=63668458353ac203ee4af0db7fd0b98b  

Meeting called to order at 2:17 pm. Pledge of Allegiance. Announcement on remote public comment.

ROLL CALL

PRESENT: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Carrion, Palmer, Soo, Wechter, Acting Secretary Leung
NOT PRESENT: Nguyen

Motion to excuse Member Nguyen by Vice President Carrion, seconded by Member Brookter. Unanimously approved.

A quorum of the Board was present.

ADOPTION OF MINUTES

Motion to approve the Minutes from the October 6, 2023, regular meeting and the October 13, 2023, special meeting, by Vice President Carrion, seconded by Member Brookter.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

Vote to adopt the minutes of October 6, 2023, and October 13, 2023:
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Carrion, Palmer, Soo, Wechter
NAYS: None
Motion passes and approved unanimously. Minutes of October 6, 2023, and October 13, 2023, are adopted.

REPORT FROM DPA ON SHERIFF’S OFFICE INVESTIGATIONS

Marshall Khine, Chief Attorney from DPA appeared to give a report on Sheriff’s investigations for the 3rd quarter.

Questions by Vice President Carrion, Member Wechter, and President Soo.

PUBLIC COMMENT:
Terry Fill, in person, asked where the guy from DPA came from, if he was part of this department, and who pays him. You need to ensure the information is correct and follows the process of integrity. It is important, otherwise you are going in things that are unreliable and in the end don’t work in your best interests at all.

PUBLIC COMMENT ON CLOSED SESSION

Terry Fill, in person, stated the concept of closed session raises the question of why is it closed session? Is closed session something the public should not know immediately?

CLOSED SESSION commenced at 2:34 pm.

CLOSED SESSION ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEE APPOINTMENT/HIRING (SF ADMIN CODE 67.10(B))

In attendance in closed session: Members Afuhaamango, Brookter, Carrion, Palmer, Soo, and Wechter. DHR representative Paul Greene, Deputy City Attorney Jana Clark, and Acting Commission Secretary Dan Leung.

One motion was made in closed session and passed by majority vote.

OPEN SESSION recommenced at 2:53 pm

VOTE TO DISCLOSE DICUSSION ON CLOSED SESSION

Motion to not disclose discussion in closed session except to let the public know that a majority of the Board voted to extend an offer of employment to a candidate at the highest stated salary, by President Soo, seconded by Member Brookter.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

Vote on motion:
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Carrion, Palmer, Soo, Wechter
NAYS: None
Motion passes unanimously. Discussion in closed session shall not be disclosed to the public except as stated above.

QUARTERLY REPORT

Motion to add the jail visits by Member Palmer and Member Wechter, and notes to the Community Outreach section of the report, to the 3rd quarter report by Member Wechter.

Discussion by Member Wechter, Vice President Carrion, Member Palmer, President Soo, Member Afuhaamango, and Member Brookter.

BREAK: 3:38 pm to 3:47 pm

Member Wechter withdraws the motion and makes a motion to continue this line item to the next meeting, seconded by Vice President Carrion.

PUBLIC COMMENT:
Terry Fill, in person, stated it took 45 minutes before saying the word goal. The goal seems to be to improve the system which has to be a mess in the jails. Push the concept of responsibility and critical thinking. Don’t be afraid to speak the truth.

Vote to continue line item:
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Carrion, Palmer, Soo, Wechter
NAYS: None
Motion passes unanimously. Line item is continued to the next meeting.

FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

Open discussion and suggestions by Member Brookter, Member Afuhaamango, President Soo, Member Palmer, Vice President Carrion, and Member Wechter.

Suggested future agenda items:
1. Reports from Board members
2. Priorities for the IG
3. How SFSO handles investigations from DPA
4. Community engagement
5. Jail health
6. Budget
7. Working conditions of the deputies
8. Officer safety
9. Partnership between law enforcement and community.
10. Prioritize well-being and mental health of law enforcement officers with access to resources.
11. Services – prior to reentry, educational opportunities, apprenticeships and job training opportunities, and support services on reentry.
12. Town hall for San Francisco Jail Justice Coalition.
13. Board photo
14. Letterman jacket
15. Schedule Glide community event.
16. Town halls with Supervisor districts.
17. Town hall with representatives from the public defender’s office: what they hear from incarcerated individuals and what concerns they have.
18. Presentation from experienced oversight practitioners on best practices for establishing an investigative and model agency; what will be necessary to make the agency succeed. The required training, resources and staffing and source of support for budgeting those items.
19. Presentation on anonymized information regarding lawsuits and settlements against the sheriff’s office and judgements for the past 5 years and steps taken to address behavioral or systematic behavioral conditions that resulted in the settlements or adverse judgments.
20. Reach out to prosecutors who work with the victims and families.
21. Regular reports from the Sheriff’s Department on the number and types of complaints received in the last month or quarter; number and types of grievances submitted by incarcerated individuals with the last month or quarter, including facility and location.
22. Ongoing statistics from special patrol in the Tenderloin and South of Market.
23. Identify key categories that the Board wants SFSO to prioritize and give reports on. Including ongoing reports with updates.
24. Presentation from District Attorneys office on number of arrests made by Sheriff’s deputies on the special project in the Tenderloin and SoMa that they dismissed and the reasons for dismissals e.g. lack of evidence.

President Soo reiterated Chief Jue’s request that we give SFSO at least 3 weeks’ notice for any presentations SDOB requests from the Sheriff’s Office.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

Terry Fill, in person, stated he wanted to rectify what he meant by bad guys, it is important to understand there are bad good guys and good bad guys. He said to Sheriff Miyamoto that he needs to make his team strong. Technology works against us today because the way it works now, it is our enemy. The weaponization of technology is not a good idea.

ADJOURNMENT

All those in favor voted AYE. No NAYS.

Meeting was adjourned at 4:21 pm.

Dan Leung
Legal Assistant
Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board

Full video recording may be accessed at:
https://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/player/clip/44827?view_id=223&redirect=true&h=f633e73924d4b76cb3b81707a5d8e57e 

Meeting called to order at 2:10 pm. Pledge of Allegiance.

President Soo recognizes Lauren Curry from the City Attorney’s office for standing in this afternoon.

ROLL CALL

PRESENT: Brookter, Carrion, Palmer, Soo, Wechter, Acting Secretary Leung

Motion to excuse Member Afuhaamango and Member Nguyen by Vice President Carrion, seconded by Member Brookter. Unanimously approved.

A quorum of the Board was present.

IN MEMORIAM

President Soo commemorates and offers condolences to the family, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, and law enforcement family of Deputy Sheriff Ryan Clinkunbroomer, whose End of Watch was September 16, 2023.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

ADOPTION OF MINUTES

Motion to approve the Minutes from the September 1, 2023 meeting, by Vice President Carrion, seconded by Member Brookter.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

Vote to adopt the minutes of September 1, 2023
AYES: Brookter, Carrion, Palmer, Soo, Wechter
NAYS: None
Motion passes and approved with no objections. Minutes of September 1,2023, are adopted.

RECRUITMENT OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

Ben Richey and Paul Greene, from the Department of Human Resources appeared.

PUBLIC COMMENT:
Terry Fiel, in person, asked how long closed session would be.

President Soo responded.

PUBLIC COMMENT ON CLOSED SESSION

Terry Fiel, in person, asked the Board to do a good job and stated that they did not want any conspiracies.

CLOSED SESSION ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEE APPOINTMENT/HIRING (SF ADMIN CODE 67.10(B))

One motion was made in closed session. Having no second, motion is moot and is not voted on.

OPEN SESSION

VOTE TO DISCLOSE DICUSSION ON CLOSED SESSION

PUBLIC COMMENT:
Terry Fiel, in person, stated that at some point closed session should not remain for long. It won’t make sense to the public for long.

President Soo responds.

Motion to not disclose discussion in closed session except to let the public know that interviews for the Inspector General position will take place the following Friday, by President Soo, seconded by Vice President Carrion.

Vote on motion:
AYES: Brookter, Carrion, Palmer, Soo,
NAYES: Wechter
By majority vote, the motion passes. Discussion in closed session shall not be disclosed to the public.

PRESENTATION BY THE DEPARTMENT OF POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY (DPA)

Marshall Khine, Chief of Staff at the Department of Police Accountability, appeared and presented statistics and progress reports on support from DPA for the Department (of Inspector General) and Board.

Questions and comments from Vice President Carrion, Member Wechter, President Soo, Member Brookter, and Member Palmer.

PUBLIC COMMENT:
Terry Fiel, in person, stated that he did not understand the goal of DPA and what they are trying to achieve. He stated that the system is messed up and doesn’t know who controls and pulls the strings. He wants to know what the end goal is. To improve the system or stay as it is which is no future.

BREAK: 3:12 pm to 3:16 pm

SAN FRANCISOCO CHARTER SECTION 4.137

President Soo opens the discussion with comments and suggestions from Vice President Carrion and Member Wechter.

Motion to have President Soo work with the City Attorney’s Office to draft revised charter language by Vice President Carrion, seconded by Member Brookter.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

Vote on motion:
AYES: Brookter, Carrion, Palmer, Soo, Wechter
NAYES: None
Motion is approved unanimously. Member Soo shall work with the City Attorney’s Office on a draft of revised charter language.

NACOLE CODE OF ETHICS

Motion to remove this line item from the agenda by Vice President Carrion, seconded by President Soo.

Discussion by Member Wechter, Vice President Carrion, President Soo, and Member Brookter.

PUBLIC COMMENT:
Terry Fiel, in person, stated don’t mess with ethics. The problem is when things are centralized.

Vote on motion:
AYES: Brookter, Carrion, Palmer, Soo
NAYES: Wechter
By majority vote, the motion passes. The NACOLE Code of Ethics is taken off the agenda.

FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

President Soo opened the discussion by providing an example of a likely priority agenda items such as a report on jail health and a presentation by the Undersheriff on handling complaints once an investigation, report, and recommendation has been made by the Department of Police Accountability (DPA). She has requested 5 priority items from each member to be submitted to the Board Secretary. Items will be selected by Board consensus as she looks to draft a calendar for the next year to keep the Board on task. Comments by Member Brookter, Vice President Carrion.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

Terry Fiel, in person, reviewed Minutes and stated there was an error in the minutes from the last meeting. We all need to work together. Intelligence works with emotions. Technology is our enemy.

ADJOURNMENT

President Soo adjourns in memory of Senator Diane Feinstein and offers condolences to her family.

All those in favor voted AYE. No NAYS.

Meeting was adjourned at 3:52 pm.

Dan Leung
Legal Assistant
Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board

Full video recording may be accessed at: https://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/player/clip/44612?view_id=223&redirect=true&h=c1e92d1615e6d6c52c57dae2029dfe52 

Meeting called to order at 2:12 pm. Pledge of Allegiance.

ROLL CALL

PRESENT: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Carrion, Nguyen, Palmer (at 2:49 pm), Soo, Wechter, Acting Secretary Leung

A quorum of the Board was present.

GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

Thierry Fill, in person, stated the specific role of the sheriff’s is to protect the government officials. You have to make sure the government is legitimate. It is plain to see that there is a division here. It’s not going to work. We have to be very focused. The goal of everyone is happiness which you cannot achieve if you go against it. Nobody will be happy if they see that the government is not serving the people. Nobody wants a wall. Why isn’t the government in San Francisco saying anything to keep peace? He told the mayor twice, in order to try to solve the problem, you have to push to promote the City, the concept of stability and critical thinking. Pay attention. Stand by. We will see what happens with the supervisors. He will continue speaking for everyone’s happiness.

Michael Petrelis, remotely, he filed a complaint in April with the Sheriff's Department against Officer Andrew Martinez, because he believed he had harassed him before the meeting started and he killed his first amendment rights. He videotaped this interaction and filed a written complaint with internal affairs at the sheriff’s department. After four weeks of not hearing from anyone to ask him questions about his complaint, he received an email from Deputy Kevin McConnell telling him that they had conducted an internal investigation, without asking him a single question, and they absolved their colleague of any wrongdoing. He mentions this because it is one more reason why they need this commission to get its act together. Hire the inspector general. Start investigating citizen’s complaints. They have waited an unconscionable number of years for this commission to address the abuses of the sheriff and the deputies. They cannot wait much longer for you to hire someone and get that person up and running as the inspector general. What they will eventually need is a law enforcement commission instead of one commission for the police department and one for the sheriff’s department. We need a single law enforcement commission.

ADOPTION OF MINUTES

Motion to approve the Minutes from July 7, 2023, and July 27, 2023, by Vice President Carrion, seconded by Member Soo.

PUBLIC COMMENT:
Michael Petrelis, remotely, wanted to address the draft meeting minutes from Thursday, July 27. He sees there is no general public comment then you went into closed session. He is very concerned about the lack of public engagement and public comment about this meeting. Then you went into closed session, and it says here, discussion in closed session will not be disclosed. The terrible lack of transparency has to be addressed. He speaks as a person frustrated and trying to get some independent investigation of the sheriff’s department. The commission met in July behind closed doors. This was about the inspector general, and no public was there, no public comment was recorded, and what was discussed will not be disclosed. This is the reason so many are distrustful of any government oversight law enforcement because we do not see transparency and it is crucial that there is transparency about what you are doing on this commission in closed session. They have no idea when they will get an inspector general. Please tell them what happened at the July 27 meeting.

Vote to adopt the minutes of July 7, 2023, and July 27, 2023
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Carrion, Nguyen, Palmer, Soo, Wechter
NAYS: None
Motion passes and approved with no objections. Minutes of July 7, 2023, and July 27, 2023, are adopted.

NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Vice President Carrion nominates Member Soo for the office of the president of the Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board for term October 2023 through September 2024, seconded by Member Brookter.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None.

Vote for Member Soo for office of the president for the SDOB:
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Carrion, Nguyen, Palmer, Soo
NAYES: Wechter
By majority vote, Member Soo has been elected to be president of the SDOB for the term of October 2023 through September 2024.

Congratulations to President Elect Soo.

President Elect Soo nominates Vice President Carrion for the office of Vice President of the Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board for the term October 2023 through September 2024, seconded by Member Afuhaamango.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

Vote for reelection of Vice President Carrion for the next year:
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Carrion, Nguyen, Palmer, Soo
NAYES: Wechter.
By majority vote, Vice President Carrion has been reelected as Vice President of the SDOB for the term of October 2023 through September 2024.

Congratulations to Vice President Carrion.

RECRUITMENT OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

Ben Richey and Paul Greene, from the Department of Human Resources appeared to give an update on the applications and candidates for Inspector General.

Comments by Vice President Carrion and question from President Wechter.

PUBLIC COMMENT:
Michael Petrelis, remotely, he is disappointed that there is not a substantive discussion taking place right now before you go into closed session about hiring the inspector general. The fact that they can’t learn how many have applied for the job or how many have submitted answers to the questionnaire is really harming the public trust in what you are doing, or what you are not doing – and that is not giving transparency. It is really not the lack of transparency; it is the extreme lack of urgency. We are in September of 2023 and this commission is dragging its feet on getting us an inspector general. He repeated that at some point San Francisco needs to merge the police commission with the oversight body of the sheriff’s department and also look at oversight of the district attorney’s office. They need a comprehensive single law enforcement commission where they the people go to a body with power to voice their complaints; where they list their complaints against the various law enforcement agencies the local level in San Francisco and how crime is not coming down and the trust in law enforcement is also declining. Please tell them what is going on with the inspector general’s search.

Responses by Vice President Carrion and Member Afuhaamango.

PUBLIC COMMENT ON CLOSED SESSION

Michael Petrelis, remotely, because you all set a calendar for yourselves for this year, that you are following that calendar. It is unacceptable that they are still waiting not just for transparency, but urgency. Where is your sense of urgency on getting more public engagement at your meetings, and urgency that is needed regarding hiring this inspector general? How much longer must they wait? It is now the ninth month of this year, and they have no idea what the number of applicants is. You are all hiding behind the bureaucracies of personal laws. He does not believe you are going to violate the laws if you tell them three or thirty people have applied for this position. The lack of transparency is harming community accountability and law enforcement and now you are about to go into closed session about this and they are going to have to wait until you come out of closed session to make public comment on the other items on the agenda. You should have put this item for the closed session at the very end so they could hear the report that follows this item and be allowed to make general public comment. Please show some urgency here.

Response by President Wechter.

CLOSED SESSION ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEE APPOINTMENT/HIRING

Four motions were made in closed session.
Three pass and one does not.

OPEN SESSION

President Elect Soo makes known that the Board interpreted law enforcement agency under the charter as law enforcement agencies that consist of police and sheriff departments and review of candidates is continuing into October.

VOTE TO DISCLOSE DISCUSSION IN CLOSED SESSION

Motion to not disclose discussion in closed session by Vice President Carrion, seconded by President Elect Soo.

PUBLIC COMMENT:
Maxine Anderson, appearing in person, suggested the Board form a committee for the hiring of an Inspector General, so there can be weekly meetings and the public will be informed of each step.

Responses by Vice President Carrion and President Elect Soo.

Vote on motion not to disclose discussion in closed session:
AYES: Afuhaamango, Brookter, Carrion, Nguyen, Palmer, Soo, Wechter,
NAYES: None
Motion to not disclose discussion in closed session passes unanimously. The discussion in closed session will not be disclosed.

PRESENTATION BY THE DEPARTMENT OF POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY (DPA)

Marhsall Khine, Chief Attorney for the Department of Police Accountability, appeared in person to present on 2021 and 2022 statistics regarding complaints against SFSO received or handled by DPA.

Questions during the course of the presentation by Vice President Carrion, President Elect Soo, Member Afuhaamango, and President Wechter.

Due to time constraints, the secretary moved to continue the remainder of the DPA presentation along with items 9, 10, and 11 with no objections.

GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

ADJOURNMENT

All those in favor voted AYE. No NAYS.

Meeting was adjourned at 4:59 pm.

Dan Leung
Legal Assistant
Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board

Full video recording may be accessed at: https://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/player/clip/44335?view_id=223&redirect=true&h=2a05d4c9a3c60cc841c0b86fc94a34da 

Meeting called to order at 3:33 pm.

ROLL CALL

PRESENT: Brookter, Carrion, Palmer (at 3:53 pm), Soo, Wechter, Acting Secretary Leung
NOT PRESENT: Afuhaamango, Nguyen

A quorum of the Board was present.

Motion to excuse Members Afuhaamango and Nguyen from the meeting passes without objection.

GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

CLOSED SESSION

Closed session on public employee appointment/hiring (SF Admin Code 67.10(b)

PUBLIC COMMENT: None

VOTE TO DISCLOSE MATTERS IN CLOSED SESSION

Motion to not disclose discussion in closed session by Member Soo, seconded by Member Brookter.
AYES: Brookter, Carrion, Palmer, Soo, Wechter
NAYES: None
The motion passes. Discussion in closed session will not be disclosed.

ADJOURNMENT

All those in favor voted AYE. No NAYS.

Meeting was adjourned at 4:53 pm.

Dan Leung
Legal Assistant,
Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board