San Francisco Police Department


The San Francisco Police Department is the city police department of the City and County of San Francisco, California. The department's motto is the same as that of the city and county: Oro en paz, fierro en guerra, Spanish for Gold in peace, iron in war.
The SFPD is distinct from the San Francisco Sheriff's Department, which is another county law enforcement agency within San Francisco. The SFPD serves an estimated population of 1.2 million, including the daytime-commuter population and the thousands of other tourists and visitors, in the second most densely populated large city in North America. In 2000, it was the 11th largest police department in the United States.
The SFPD has been embroiled in numerous controversies related to corruption and racial discrimination. A 2016 report by the Department of Justice concluded that there was significant of racial bias in SFPD treatment of African-Americans.

History

Early years

The SFPD began operations on August 13, 1849, during the Gold Rush under the command of Captain Malachi Fallon. At the time, Chief Fallon had a force of one deputy captain, three sergeants and 30 officers.
In 1851, Albert Bernard de Russailh wrote about the nascent San Francisco police force:
As for the police, I have only one thing to say. The police force is largely made up of ex-bandits, and naturally the members are interested above all in saving their old friends from punishment. Policemen here are quite as much to be feared as the robbers; if they know you have money, they will be the first to knock you on the head. You pay them well to watch over your house, and they set it on fire. In short, I think that all the people concerned with justice or the police are in league with the criminals. The city is in a hopeless chaos, and many years must pass before order can be established. In a country where so many races are mingled, a severe and inflexible justice is desirable, which would govern with an iron hand.

On October 28, 1853, the Board of Aldermen passed Ordinance No. 466, which provided for the reorganization of the police department. Sections one and two provided as follows:
In July 1856, the "Consolidation Act" went into effect. This act abolished the office of City Marshal and created in its stead the office of Chief of Police. The first Chief of Police elected in 1856 was James F. Curtis a former member of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance.
The SFPD is known for being one of the pioneering forces for modern law enforcement, beginning in the early 1900s.

1975 strike

In early August 1975, the SFPD went on strike over a pay dispute, violating a California law prohibiting police from striking. The city quickly obtained a court order declaring the strike illegal and enjoining the SFPD back to work. The court messenger delivering the order was met with violence and the SFPD continued to strike. Only managers and African-American officers remained on duty, with 45 officers and three fire trucks responsible for a city population of 700,000. Supervisor Dianne Feinstein pleaded Mayor Joseph Alioto to ask Governor Jerry Brown to call out the National Guard to patrol the streets but Alioto refused. When enraged civilians confronted SFPD officers at the picket lines, the officers arrested them. Heavy drinking on the picket line became common and after striking SFPD officers started shooting out streetlights, the ACLU obtained a court order prohibiting strikers from carrying their service revolvers. Again, the SFPD ignored the court order. On August 20 a bomb detonated at the Mayor's Presidio Terrace home with a sign reading "Don't Threaten Us" left on his lawn. On August 21 Mayor Alioto advised the San Francisco Board of Supervisors that they should concede to the strikers' demands. The Supervisors unanimously refused. Mayor Alioto immediately then declared a state of emergency, assumed legislative powers, and granted the strikers' demands. City Supervisors and taxpayers sued but the court found that a contract obtained through an illegal strike is still legally enforceable.

Recent times

In 1997, the San Francisco International Airport Police merged with SFPD, becoming the SFPD Airport Bureau.
Prior to officers carrying the SIG Sauer pistols the Beretta Model 96GT which is the.40 caliber version of the well known Beretta 92 was carried by officers starting in the early to mid 1990s replacing.38 Special 6 shot revolvers which made SFPD one of the last large agencies in California to adopt semi-automatic pistols.
As of September 8, 2011, ground was broken for San Francisco's new Public Safety Building in Mission Bay. A replacement facility for the San Francisco Police Department Headquarters and Southern District Police Station, the PSB also contains a fire station to serve the burgeoning neighborhood.
In 2014, the San Francisco Police Academy graduated its first publicly reported transgender police officer, Mikayla Connell.
A new study conducted by the California Policy Lab and researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, found that after the San Francisco Police Department doubled its foot patrols last year, it resulted in a reduction by about 16% in larceny theft and 19% in assaults across the city and 10 police station districts.
In 2020 the SFPD reacted to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on drug overdoses. It was thought that some of these overdoses were due to changes in supply patterns caused by “shelter-in-place” lockdowns, making it more challenging to estimate the potency of an illegal drug. Additionally, isolated substance abuse users are more likely to act alone, with no assistance in administering Narcan the intranasal opioid antagonist. San Francisco’s Drug Overdose Prevention and Education program, who recorded more than two thousand overdose reversals in 2019, had to transport its entire inventory of Narcan from Oakland to the city of San Francisco before the lockdown stopped all movement. Concurrently, the SFPD increased the number of officers walking beats and carrying Narcan. These police affected a 500 percent increase in Narcan administration over a similar seven-week period in 2019. The combination of caring organizations and SFPD increased vigilance worked, overall SF has not experienced a significant spike in overdose deaths during the lockdown.

Organization

The San Francisco Police Department is led by a Chief of Police which is appointed by the Mayor of San Francisco. The chief works with two assistant chiefs and five deputy chiefs directing the six bureaus: Administration, Airport, Chief of Staff, Field Operations, Professional Standards and Principled Policing and Special Operations, as well as the Municipal Transportation Authority, and the Public Utilities Commission. There are commanders appointed to assist the Deputy Chief with the day-to-day operation of the bureaus.

Bureaus

The Department is divided into six bureaus which are either led by an Assistant Chief or Deputy Chief.
BureauCommanderDescriptionDivisions
Administration BureauChief of AdministrationThe Administration Bureau provides a variety of services in the areas of budget management, information technology, legal research and counsel, personnel service, and logistical support.The bureau has 6 divisions under it such as the Forensic Services and Training and Education.
Airport BureauChief of AirportThe Airport Bureau provides law enforcement, traffic control, and security to the San Francisco International Airport.N/A
Chief of StaffChief of StaffThe Office of the Chief of Staff is responsible for providing administrative support to the Chief of Police, while effectively managing Media Relations, Risk Management Office.The Chief of Staff oversees 6 divisions including Risk Management Unit and Internal Affairs Division.
Field Operations BureauChief of Field OperationsThe Field Operations Bureau manages the Patrol Division and Investigations Bureau of the Police Department.Patrol divisions are broken down into two divisions Golden Gate Division and Metro Division which are each led by San Francisco Police Commanders.
Professional Standards and Principled Policing BureauChief of Professional Standards and Principled PolicingThe Professional Standards and Principled Policing Bureau was established in February 2016, to oversee the proposed use of force reforms, as well as to coordinate efforts of the Police Department with the United States Department of Justice Collaborative Reform Initiative.N/A
Special Operations BureauChief of Special OperationsThe Special Operations Bureau supports the other units of the Department by providing specialized expertise and equipment when needed.Divisions under Special Operations includes Homeland Security Unit, Municipal Transportation, and Tactical Company which comprises the SWAT team, Bomb Squad, Honda Unit, Mounted Unit, Canine Unit, and the Hostage Negotiation Team

Equipment

The standard issue side arms issued by the SFPD are the SIG Sauer P226 and SIG Sauer P229 chambered in.40 S&W. Officers also carry batons, pepper spray, a portable radio and handcuffs, and certified officers are authorized to carry AR-15 platform rifles chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO on patrol.

Vehicles

The SFPD has several types of vehicles in use, among them the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, Chevrolet Tahoe, and more recently the 2013 Ford Taurus and 2013 Ford Explorer. Like most police agencies throughout California, SFPD patrol units are painted in black clearcoat with the roof, doors, and pillars painted white from the factory. The front doors bear a blue seven-pointed star with the letters "S.F.P.D." printed in gold. This decal is also printed on the trunk, either near the center of the decklid or near the right taillight. The car's 'shop number' is printed on the front doors below the A-pillars, on the trunk near the left rear taillight, and on the roof to help air units visually identify cars. On the rear side panels on both sides of the car is a sticker reading "EMERGENCY DIAL 911".

Uniform

TitleInsignia
Chief
Assistant Chief
Deputy Chief
Commander
Captain
Lieutenant
Inspector
Sergeant
Officer

The SFPD has supplemental levels for ranks up to captain, depending on P.O.S.T. certification. Example; Q-2, Q-3 or Q-4 Police Officer for Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Peace Officer Standards and Training certification. Inspectors do not use chevrons to identify their rank—instead they wear a gold star badge similar to lieutenants and above. Sergeants and officers wear a silver star badge. Inspectors were initially the equivalent of a lieutenant rank and pay, but are now equivalent to a sergeant rank and pay. Tenured officers will have blue and gold hash-marks on the lower left sleeve of their Class A, B, and C long-sleeved shirts. Each mark represents five years of service.
SFPD members are also eligible for bronze, silver, and gold Medals of Valor. Annually the nominees for these awards are reviewed by a board of police captains. A Meritorious Conduct Award can also be awarded to department members.

San Francisco Police Reserve Officers

The San Francisco Police Reserve Officer Unit is composed of individuals who wish to provide community service and give back to the city they live or work in. These officers understand the need for quality policing and community involvement, but cannot make the full commitment on becoming full-time peace officers.
A San Francisco Police Reserve Officer is a POST -certified peace officer who volunteers his or her time. A Reserve Officer is classified as a Q-0 and has the same duties and authority as a full-time paid Police Officer while on duty. Officers patrol in vehicles, on bikes, on foot, and in some cases on marine craft. Reserve officers must meet the same stringent and comprehensive POST standards and training as regular full-time police officers. Most San Francisco Police Reserve Officers are Level 1 Reserve Officers, which is the highest level that is recognized by the State of California. The SFPD does accept Level 2 or Level 3 Reserve Officers, but based upon their respective levels which determine how a Reserve Officer is deployed.
Reserve Officers are responsible for serving a minimum of 24 volunteer hours per month to retain peace officers status, although there are Reserve Officers who routinely contribute two to three times that number.
Reserve Officers are involved in many areas of police work. Although most reserve officers actively participate in patrol, others work for such details as Muni, the Fugitive Recovery Enforcement Team, Vice, juvenile, emergency operations, DUI check-points, transporting prisoners, Command Van duty, and fixed posts at special events like 49er Football games and Sigmund Stern Grove performances.
Reserves are now organized like a company, with a complement of 40 Reserve Officers divided into three squads, each with a designated squad sergeant. For special events like New Year's Eve, Halloween night, and other citywide events, Reserves are assigned as a squad.
Before Reserve candidates are considered, they must meet the same eligibility criteria as a Q-2 Police Officer Recruit. Furthermore, each candidate must completed the required training prior to being appointed as a Reserve Police Officer. Once appointed, that officer must attend Continuing Professional Training, which is consistent with the requirements of regular full-time Officers every two years. There is also a 400-hour Field Training Program that Level 1 Reserves Officers must complete with a FTO officer. Reserve officers are held to the same performance standards as a full-time Police Officer and serve at the pleasure of the Chief of Police.

SWAT

San Francisco has been known for their elite SWAT team, composed of volunteer and selected officers from the entire agency. Most training is done in-house, with occasional and required training by FBI instructors, other Federal Agencies and private Military instruction. The SWAT division participates in planned and coordinated raids with agencies such as the FBI, DEA, and the ATF. As of 2007, it is mandatory that SWAT team members are together, sometimes during routine patrol, and can be seen among the streets of San Francisco in BDU and traveling in a marked SUV, to ensure a quick and timely response to calls. They were under political fire in the highly publicized 1998 Western Addition Raid, in which more than 90 SFPD SWAT and Federal Agents raided a Western Addition housing project. The SWAT team also executes high-risk warrants in the City and County of San Francisco. They are also one of the oldest serving agencies doing city crime suppression along with LAPD SWAT and NYPD Emergency Service Units.

Housing Authority Police

The San Francisco Housing Authority Police was formed as an offshoot of the department in 1938 to patrol the various housing projects of the city. In the 1990s they were completely absorbed back into the main Police Department.

C.R.U.S.H.

In the mid-1990s, San Francisco experienced the explosion of drug-related homicides, which escalated to approximately 40 murders. Then-Chief Fred Lau sought the expertise of his veteran homicide Inspectors, Napoleon Hendrix and Prentice "Earl" Sanders, to put together a "top notch" task force, called CRime Unit to Stop Homicide, to solve and suppress the murders and investigate violent illegal narcotics cell groups and other violent crimes. Inspector Bob McMillan, Officer Nash Balinton and his partner Officer Paul Lozada, Officer Mike Bolte, Officer Michael Philpott, and Sergeants John Monroe, Maurice Edwards and Kervin Silas, were personally selected to the unit by the Inspectors.

Motor Division

The SFPD was one of the founding departments in the field of utilizing Police motorcycles. The unit was founded in 1909, and has grown ever since. They are officially under the command of the SFPD Traffic Division. They participate in many duties such as traffic enforcement, patrol, riot control, and special events and escorts. It is the only fully functional department that utilizes the entire traffic fleet for escorts in the nation. No other metropolitan city utilizes all its motor bikes for escorts but SFPD.
The entire 43-man unit is based at the Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant Street. Unlike most cities, they patrol as solo officers. They can frequently be seen throughout the city. The bulk of the unit is composed of Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycles. There is a separate division called Honda Unit, that is composed of Suzuki DR-Z400S dual-sport motorcycles, for city patrol and patrol in and around the area of Golden Gate Park. Otherwise, every one of the 10 main police stations in the city have 2 motorcycles under their command, used for patrol around their districts exclusively.

Aero Division

The SFPD "Aero" Squadron was at its peak in the mid-1970s, with the number of helicopter and small plane flights rivaling the frequency of the Los Angeles Police Department. After several accidents and complaints about the "Eye in the Sky" program, the unit was disbanded. The helicopter unit was featured prominently in the first Dirty Harry film, identifying a sniper on a roof top before a murder was committed. The unit was reactivated in the late 1990s, but after another fatal crash the Aero unit was put into an "inactive" status indefinitely. In times where it needs air support, the SFPD contacts the California Highway Patrol who has a Napa air base.

Police Academy

The original San Francisco Police Academy was built in 1895 and was located on the West End adjacent to Golden Gate Park. The building, no longer in use, had the facilities to accommodate 25 trainees. In the 1960s, the building now used as the San Francisco Police Academy Complex was built originally as Diamond Heights Elementary School located at 350 Amber Drive, just behind the Diamond Heights Safeway. The building was built in the 1960s hugging the Diamond Heights/Glen Park Canyon. Almost immediately upon completion, the property was determined to be unsafe and sliding into the canyon. The school was closed for one year, shored up and reopened. It was closed as a public school in the 1980s. Subsequently, the building is used by the SFPD for training. It is surrounded by a heavily wooded forest area and is near a shopping mall and apartment complex. As of recently, there are three academy classes in session annually, with individual classes taking place for 31 to 32 weeks, year round. Pier 94 is also used for vehicle training exercises and mock police car chases, and Lake Merced is the location of the Academy's firing range. With a boom in retirees in the coming years, a projected 700+ officers will be hired within the next 5–10 years, meaning full academy classes for some time. Lateral officers are currently being hired, and are being hired on an ongoing basis.

Headquarters

SFPD headquarters was located for a number of years at the San Francisco Thomas J. Cahill Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant Street, which houses a number of criminal courts, jail facilities, investigative and support units, as well as "Southern Station". The Headquarters of the San Francisco Sheriff's Department is housed in an adjacent building. On April 16, 2015, the SFPD officially moved its headquarters to a new location at Mission Bay.

In popular culture

The SFPD has been portrayed in films such as The Sniper, Vertigo, Freebie and the Bean, The Laughing Policeman, Bullitt, the Dirty Harry film series, 48 Hrs., A View to a Kill, Metro, Rush Hour, and Zodiac, as well as television series such as The Lineup, Ironside, The Streets of San Francisco, McMillan & Wife, Nash Bridges, The Division, Killer Instinct, The Evidence, Charmed, Murder in the First and Monk. The Dirty Harry film series is known for shaping the popular view of the department, with a hard-nosed stance on crime and often using "cowboy" tactics.
In the days of old-time radio, there were a number of drama series built around the activities of the SFPD. Carlton E. Morse created four different shows based on SFPD files for NBC's Pacific Coast Network, Chinatown Squad, Barbary Coast Nights, Killed in Action, and To the Best of Their Ability.
The SFPD has also had a strong presence in novels and short stories. Sidney Herschel Small wrote a series of thirty stories that appeared in Detective Fiction Weekly between 1931 and 1936 featuring Sergeant Jimmy Wentworth, the head of the Chinatown Squad, whose adventures were presumably based, if loosely, on the activities of Jack Manion, the real-life commander of SFPD's Chinatown detail. In the early 1960s, Breni James wrote two novels about Sergeant Gun Mattson, uniformed patrol supervisor at the Ingleside District Station, The Night of the Kill, which was an Edgar nominee for Best First Novel, and The Shakeup. Ernest K. Gann's 1963 novel, Of Good and Evil, tells the story of one busy day in the professional life of San Francisco's police chief, Colin Hill, a character apparently modeled on SFPD's real-life chief at that time, Thomas J. Cahill, to whom the book is dedicated. More recently, Collin Wilcox wrote a long series featuring Lieutenant Frank Hastings of SFPD's Homicide Detail. Laurie R. King won an Edgar for her first novel, A Grave Talent, which introduced Homicide Inspector Kate Martinelli, who has gone on to headline such books as With Child, an Edgar nominee, and The Art of Detection, winner of the Lambda Award for Best Lesbian Mystery Novel. James Patterson's novels about Homicide Inspector Lindsay Boxer, introduced in 1st to Die, have become best-sellers, and were the basis for the short-lived TV series Women's Murder Club. Former SFPD detective and current Bay Area private investigator Jerry Kenneally has written two novels featuring Homicide Inspector Jack Kordic, The Conductor and The Hunted. After a trilogy of police novels set in other parts of the Bay Area, retired San Jose Police Chief Joseph D. McNamara wrote one novel, Code 211 Blue, about a narcotics inspector who uncovers corruption within the SFPD. Another former cop, Robin Burcell, who spent twenty years in law enforcement, first as an officer in the Lodi Police, then later as a criminal investigator for the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office, wrote four novels featuring Homicide Inspector Kate Gillespie, the first of which, Every Move She Makes, won the Barry for Best Paperback Original, and the third of which, Deadly Legacy, won the Anthony in the same category.
Some San Francisco-set police novels have explored The City's rich history. With Siberia Comes a Chill, by former Inyo County Deputy Sheriff Kirk Mitchell, features SFPD Homicide Inspector John Kost who, in April 1945, while conducting a murder investigation as the United Nations is meeting for the first time in San Francisco, finds himself pitted against an NKVD assassin. White Rabbit by David Daniels, set during 1967's Summer of Love, follows Homicide Inspector John Sparrow as he pursues a serial killer stalking the residents of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.
A future version of the SFPD play a minor role in a handful of missions in the computer game, most notably they assist the military in stopping a van carrying drones to destroy the Golden Gate Bridge. Unfortunately they fail, resulting in the destruction of the bridge, pinning down an aircraft carrier. The main protagonist saves one SFPD sergeant from plunging to his death from the wreckage of the bridge.
Most main protagonists of the iOS novel Cause of Death are officers of the SFPD. In fact, a main protagonist of the game has his name taken from that of Malachi Fallon of the real SFPD.
The SFPD has been fictionalized in the 2004 video game as the San Fierro Police Department and in the 2014 animated film Big Hero 6 as the San Fransokyo Police Department.
The Mentalist character Teresa Lisbon is former SFPD.
The character of Beau from Colony is a 30-year veteran of the department.

Controversies

The SFPD has been frequently met with criticism, due to problems of accountability and corruption that plagued the department early in its inception. In 1937, an investigation, referred to as the "Atherton Report," by District Attorney Matthew Brady found that more than $1 million per year was being pocketed by officers from regular payoffs by prostitution, gambling and other criminal interests. It has also dealt with attacks such as the Preparedness Day Bombing in 1916 and the San Francisco Police Department Park Station bombing in the 1960s by leftist radicals.
Recent examples of controversy include racist and homophobic texts , police shootings of citizens, the reaction to Critical Mass bicycle rides and protests in the Financial District against U.S. foreign policy. The rate of complaints against officers and "excessive force" cases are lower relative to other big-city departments, such as the LAPD, the NYPD, or CPD. But the city continues to have one of the highest complaint rates, particularly when analyzed on a per-capita basis, factoring in the relatively small population of San Francisco compared to Los Angeles or New York. This could be attributed to several factors, including the dramatic increase of so-called "transient population", or those coming to visit the city, or the proactive nature of the Office of Citizen Complaints, or OCC. The OCC, created by San Francisco City Charter, has been known to solicit complaints from people contacted by police.
Notable incidents and events include the Golden Dragon massacre, a deadly shooting between Chinese gang members in the city's Chinatown district; the 101 California Street shootings in 1993; and the death of Aaron Williams while in police custody in 1995. In the latter case, several officers were charged with using excessive force, including Marc Andaya, described as having kicked Williams when he was on the ground. After two years and revelations of numerous complaints and two federal lawsuits against Andaya as an officer with the Oakland Police Department before he moved to San Francisco, in June 1997 Andaya was fired by the San Francisco Police Commission. Van Jones and the Bay City PoliceWatch were credited with organizing and keeping up community pressure against the department on this case.
The crime lab's reputation worsened after an employee was arrested in March 2010 for stealing cocaine. This resulted in hundreds of cases being tossed out of court.
November 20, 2002: A scandal known as Fajitagate occurred when three off-duty police officers—Matthew Tonsing, David Lee, and Alex Fagan Jr.—assaulted two San Francisco residents, Adam Snyder and Jade Santoro, over a bag of fajitas. Alex Fagan Jr. is the son of SFPD Assistant Chief Alex Fagan, who later became Chief. Nine officers and Chief Earl Sanders were involved in a cover-up regarding the fight. This incident has led to a grand jury indictment of the parties involved. However, unable to prove that a cover-up existed, the district attorney dropped the charges against former Chief Earl Sanders. Acting Chief Alex Fagan also resigned. In 2006, a civil jury found former officers Fagan and Tonsing liable for damages suffered in the beating, awarding plaintiffs Snyder and Santoro $41,000 in compensation.
Public Defender Jeff Adachi released video footage from security cameras that showed different cases of SFPD officers entering apartments without warrants, plain-clothed officers not displaying badges, and officers removing belongings that were never accounted for in police reports and other court documents. In March 2011, the FBI opened an investigation into alleged police misconduct. The misconduct resulted in the DA dismissing 57 criminal cases because the scandal had compromised them.
In 2012, 12 employees of the department were charged with crimes. Seven were cited for drunk driving, three for theft, one for possession of drug paraphernalia and one for unauthorized access to official databases.
The SFPD has often been criticized for the high salaries received by staff. Greg Suhr, is the highest-paid police chief in the country, at $321,577. In 2019, an SFPD officer's starting salary is $87,000, rising to $130,000 after seven years of service.

2014–2016 texting scandal

In 2016, Jason Lai and other San Francisco police officers were found to have sent racist texts. Officer Lai turned himself in to be arraigned. The incident was discovered during investigation of an alleged sexual assault involving the Taraval Station.

Justice Department report

In October 2016, The Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services released a 432-page report stating that the SFPD stops and searches African Americans at a higher rate than other groups, and inadequately investigates officers' use of force. They uncovered "numerous indicators of implicit and institutionalized bias against minority groups." A large majority of suspects killed by police were people of color. The report recommended 272 reforms to the department.

Stations

The SFPD currently has 10 main police stations throughout the city in addition to a number of police substations.
Metro Division:
Golden Gate Division:
Sub Station and Special Division
Since the establishment of the San Francisco Police Department, 102 officers have died in the line of duty.
The causes of death are as follows:
Cause of death# of deaths
Aircraft accident
3
Assault
2
Automobile accident
6
Bomb
1
Drowned
1
Electrocuted
1
Fall
1
Gunfire
59
Gunfire
2
Heart attack
2
Motorcycle accident
6
Stabbed
2
Struck by streetcar
3
Struck by vehicle
4
Vehicle pursuit
5
Vehicular assault
2
Weather/Natural disaster
1

Demographics

The diversity of the department has increased significantly since 1972, when only 150 of the department's 2000 officers were of a non-white background.

SFPD chiefs of police