San Francisco Mayor London Breed is "optimistic" state and city officials intervening to help the San Francisco Police Department and District Attorney's Office renegotiate an agreement outlining how the two agencies cooperate in police shooting cases can help "restore the trust between the two departments."
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Breed and San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said on Monday they are working together to help District Attorney Chesa Boudin's office and Police Chief Bill Scott's department agree to an amended memorandum of understanding that address "significant issues of compliance, accountability" and "mutual expectations."
Breed said in an interview with KCBS Radio's Margie Shafer on Wednesday afternoon that Scott has been "absolutely great" on police reform, adding that the "loss of trust" between Scott's department and Boudin's office is "problematic."
"I think the challenge we've run into, the loss of trust between both the district attorney's office and the police department, have been very much problematic," Breed said, "and, as far as I'm concerned, impacting trust in our law-enforcement agencies. And so that's why we all are at the table, making recommendations to not only revise the MOU to make it stronger and clearer, but also we're going to need to make sure there is third-party involvement to restore the trust between the two departments."
In a statement to KCBS Radio, Scott said he was "grateful" the state and city are "recognizing and responding to the significant issues of compliance which "eroded" Scott's "confidence" in the agreement with Boudin's office.
"I stand strongly for the principles of accountability and transparency, which are foundational to all 21st century police reforms – including those involving uses of force and officer-involved shootings," Scott said. "But accountability and transparency must be mutually honored by both parties in agreements such as these."
Boudin's office didn't respond to KCBS Radio's request for comment prior to publication. Bonta, Breed and Chiu said in a statement that they appreciated their "collective conversations" with Boudin's office and the police department, as well as "their willingness to come to the table and renegotiate."
"I'm optimistic," Breed told KCBS Radio. "They both want to work together. They both want to see change, and I think we're headed in the right direction."
Scott announced earlier this month that he intended to sever the memorandum of understanding after a District Attorney's Investigator testified last month that she feared losing her job if she didn’t withhold information from an affidavit against Terrance Stangel, a white San Francisco police officer facing battery and assault charges for beating a Black man with a baton.
Stangel and another officer initially responded to a call accusing Dacari Spiers of domestic violence against his girlfriend, which Magen Hayashi testified in a hearing she didn't feel she could include in the affidavit without risking her firing.
Spiers, who was never charged in the incident, will receive $700,000 in a just-approved settlement with the city after sustaining a broken leg and wrist. Stangel's trial is ongoing, and it's believed to be the first criminal trial in San Francisco of an on-duty police officer's use of force.
The San Francisco Police Commission is likely to vote this week whether to compel Scott to reverse his decision and re-enter the agreement with Boudin.
Related
