Transcripts For SFGTV 20141013

I have the president and i would look to call the roll. Please do. President loftus . Present. Vice president turman . Vice president turman is en route. Commissioner marshal . Here. Commissioner mazzucco . Present. Commissioner dejesus . Present. Commissioner wong . Present. Commissioner melara . Present. We have a quorum, madam president and also with us this evening is chief of police, greg p. Suhr and the office of citizens complaints joyce hicks. Welcome to the meeting on october 8th, and we have a robust agenda, as we know that we talked about last week that there are a dow mist i can awareness and so there are a number of agenda items that talk about the Police Response and new policies that will be before this commission tonight. And we also have exciting certificates of appreciation and some acts of heroism and bravery, and so lets get right to it and thank you for being here and inspectors call the first line item presentation of certificates apraoeshs, action, mr. John girade and mr. Kyle mizokami. And i will refer to my colleague, commissioner mazzucco to talk about what we are here to talk about today ladies and gentlemen we are about to hear about great acts and i will leave it to the captain and with full disclosure i will tell you that i have known john for five years and his family and he is actual my my law partner and when he came to work and told me what he had done and i was amazed as everyone was in the office the act of heroism and again i will leave it to the captain to explain to you about what they did that night, Kyle Mizokami and john girade who have known each other from high school and what they did that night was pretty darn heroic and i will leave it to the captain captain . Welcome. And president loftu, and commissioner and chief, and director hicks and it is my privilege to be here to tell you stor i that i think is going to make everyone smile and reaffirm your faith and the good in all of us and our human nature, on the evening of october first, there was a young woman who was walking at 26 and inaudible and she was a victim of a violent robbery attempt. And when this young woman was walked on 26th street she observed an individual who she came suspicious of and given the warm weather that had fallen over San Francisco, and this individual was wearing a very large, heavy coat, which she or made her uncomfortable and made her suspicious, and she crossed the street as a precaution and upon arriving on the opposite side of the street she was set upon by a second suspect. What the victim recall ss a struggle ensuing over her purse. And the suspect grabbed the victim by the hair, and violently struck her head against the cement sidewalk, and now the strike caused immediate and severe pain to the victim, which related in a laceration which would later require several staples to close. The victim immediately became fearful for her life given the size of the suspect, and the deliberate violent manner of the assault that he was committing against her. Fortunately, for this young woman, two citizens happen upon the scene in a vehicle, mr. John girade was driving his vehicle, accompanied by his passenger mr. Kyle mizokami traveling in the area. And they heard the young woman screaming and looked to the north east corner and saw the suspect holding the victim, excuse me, by the arm while he repeatedly struck her in the face with a closed fist. In hopes of stopping the assault, mr. Girarde turned his vehicle to the corner to illuminate the crime that was occurring before him. His strategy worked as plan which upon catching the sight of the lights revealing their criminal act, he stopped the acontact on the victim, both suspects quickly began to run away from the scene on dolores street, without warning, one drew a firearm from his waste band and fired a shot in their direction. And thankfully the discharge round did not strike anyone at the scene. Mr. Girarde move his vehicle out of the line of possible additional gunfire, and undaunted they turned their attention back to the victim. Who was lying on the sidewalk, leading and in need of medical assistance. Disregarding their own personal safety, they quickly returned to the victims location, exited their vehicle, got the victim into their vehicle and then drop a short distance away from the scene of this crime to position of safety where they contacted 911 squ requesting medical assistance and response from the Police Officers from the mission district. Multiple units arrived to the scene, and helped get the victim to the hospital, under aid and thorough investigation was conducted while the victim was the unfortunate while this young woman was the unfortunate victim of two cowardly suspects intent on robbing her, when they were met with the resistance and one of the suspects turned violent, the violent manner in which he assaulted the victim could have resulted to serious injury or death to this young woman, they observed the robbery and assault as it occurred and did not hesitate to take the immediate action to stop the aaction and bring the victim to a safe location and summon aid and their actions are come mendable, when one considers that neither one of these men have specialized training or equipment that would have prepared them to intervene, or equipment that would have helped them to intervene in this type of a situation, motivated solely out of the safety, excuse me, motivated solely out of concern for the safety of an individual that they have never met and undeterred from the violence directed at them from the suspects and the actions exemplify the best of human nature. [ applause ] i would like to welcome you to the podium to receive your certificate. Come on up. You know who you are. And i bet that the beautiful families know who you are too, do you know these guys . Yeah. While the chief is giving hess certificate and as they said that i have known john for a long time and i want to look at their beautiful families. Come on up. And just want to say to viva, and lily and gus, today your dad is a hero. That is good that we are capturing this on sfgtv, and you can see that we are having. I am glad that reece is stepping in and she is amazing and it does not have to be a selfie. Some people wear the tshirts that my dad is a hero, but they can actually wear it. All right, if you could come on up, i will just in case my colleagues want to say anything else also. John, and kyle . John and kyle, come on up. Colleagues . Take the podium. Well i will just say on behalf of the Police Commission that as a mother and a wife and, a daughter and all of those things, you know that i am sure that your family had thoughts about how you put yourselfs in danger, b what the take away and really the reason that we lift these up is because you really recognized that it was your role at that moment to do what you could to help someone else and i think that the Police Department really recognizes that folks like you who help us do our job, are incredibly brave and heroic and incredible members of this community, and so, thank you, for what you did. Thank you very much. Commissioners. Thank you. Inspector please call the next line item. Line two, consent calendar, receive and file, action. Police Commission Report of disciplinary actions, Third Quarter 2014. And request for approval to accept the gifts of 50 books, titled give and take, valued at approximately 400. And from anonymous doner for use by the members of the department. Colleagues you have in your packet, two items the one is the report of disciplinary actions and the second is a memo, regarding the book donation to the Police Department, are there any questions . I want to ask for a motion. Move approval. Second. All of those in favor. Passes could you call the next line item . Line item three, general Public Comment. Public is welcome to address the commissionregarding items that do not appear on tonights agenda but that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the commission. Speakers shall address their remarks to the commission as a whole and not to individual commissioners or department or occ personnel. Under Police Commission rules of order, during Public Comment, Neither Police or occ personnel, nor commissioners are required to respond to questions presented by the public but, may provide a brief response. Individual commissioners and police and occ personnel should refrain, however, from entering into any debates or discussion with speakers during Public Comment. Anything on something that was not on the agenda. Good evening, commissioner and that was a warm fuzzy moment and i am happy to say as a women and a goddess that i am pleased to see that chilary is not dead and it is alive and well, not everybody has to wear a badge to do it and although there is somebody in this room, that is. , and i wanted to come, and ask for when possible, more officers to be assigned to our tender loin area. And i have to turn in to jackie chan from Jackie Bryson in order to use our bus shelter that is directly in front of my hotel. I could not get any closer to a bus stop. And the reason that i find myself, turning in to jackie chan, and that is my alter ego, is that there is so much illegal drug activity that is going on in that bus shelter which is located at 445 ofarrel street and across from us is shannon ally which makes it more ridiculous and we have a church across the street. And we have, an atm, on taylor, and ofarrel and we have my beloved Senior Center which is just down the street. And when i come out of the hotel, i have to decide whether or not i really want to try to use the bus shelter, because there are people who are smoking, other things, besides cigarettes. And they have hidden things in and above that Clear Channel that i really dont like. That advertisement, and there are times when decent people cannot use that bus shelter, i had a bus driver yell at me because i was standing next to the bus shelter and i thought, honey instead of driving this bus, why dont you try waiting for it, but i didnt do that. Most girls inaudible dont do stuff like that. So we do need more people up there, and we do need more cars, driving by, and what i really like, is when the car parks and sort of just sits there for a while, and yeah, and so, they can leave within 20 seconds, and everybody comes back, but, for that 20 seconds, we dont have any problems. And i also wanted to give a shout out to the captain, and i had a chitchat with him last week, and told him about a problem with these garbage cans and ask him if he could make a call because i was making calls to 311 to get those garbage cans, removed, because we were getting a whole parking lot full of them. And they are using for criminal stuff. Thank you. Thanks, jackie. Commissioners good evening. Good evening. Thank you for letting me speak today, for the record my name is amela lawrence and i have been a resident and a citizen of this county for 45 years. I have a couple of items on my plate this evening, very briefly listen to the story by the Commanding Officers of the mission station, captain, and i read the memo very quickly and i noticed that there is a lot of descriptions on it except for the description of the suspect. We have no idea who this person was whether he is black, white, or whatever. No description whatsoever, you get better descriptions of the suspect . The daily news and where they show a picture or a drawing or whatever. That is one item, and i understand that you are doing a Commission Report and first of all, i, congratulate miss loftus on their report, and i hope that you give the commission more direction than it has had in the past, but my issue right now is this, at city college and i happened to run into one of the ones that went to the school with mr. Alex nedo and he showed me an article, out of the bay view, which i dont always agree with the political position, but they put out a lot of news that the local papers dont cover. And in the article, it says that the sfpd, shot this man 40 to 50 times. I believe that you are doing a report, on alex, and i would like to see it in its conclusion, and whenever it is done. And i would like to be notified when that would take place so i can read it myself. And i have read versions on the shootings from 14, 18, to 50 shots and it is not clear how many times that he was shot and two, that he was in an administration of just a student at city college he was already a policeman and he was training to be a probation officer. And he knew a lot of policemen and so i see this as a tragedy from many angles but i am not going to talk about that tragedy what i am going to do is give you seven copies of the article, about 40 to 50 shots in the bay view and the National Black newspaper so that you can read it for yourself. And i thank you for your time on this you. Any other general Public Comment . Good evening. Good evening, i have not been here in a while. And some res. inaudible and i would like to bring up something. And Domestic Violence. And it seems like it is a hot topic lately and was it because of the football and nfl exposed everyone . Well, we also saw what he did to the women in that elevator and we have the people sitting in front of me who know a little bit about Domestic Violence, am i correct, mr. Turman, were you involved, you were involved in one. Correct . Commissioner suhr you were not involved in it but you were directly close to it. You picked up a friend who had been beaten up, and you didnt report it in a time allotted. Okay . Am not here you know, to pick over the people, but it means a lot to me, i was in the service for 24 years, and i know how the military handled that and they kept it quiet. They kept it quiet. And i went to a commander on a man who beat the heck out of his wife, and i said we have to Court Marshal him and he looked at me and said conrad, if you keep running your mouth i am going to get you for insubordination, it is repugnat and i dont know all of the facts in your case, commissioner i only know what i read, there was an sf weekly and i am sure that you read it, and i am sure that you read it. Now that brings into the question, as a cop told me, he said clyde how can someone make justments on disciplinary, over the tv cases who was in fact himself involved in the db case . And i said, you know, you know, brian that is a great question. And he said, well, tell them, and i said, i dont make the appointments, to the Police Commission. And the next subject, rape kits. Thank god and i was part of that 2 or 3 months ago i emailed governor brown. And not him directly, his staff and i said hey these rape kits, they are backloged. But all of a sudden i heard the other night that he passed a law that say that the Police Department have 20 days to forward a rape kit. Now what do we stand at chief suhr i read something in the examiner that we are clearing only 18 percent of them . And that is pretty appalling. And new york clears, 47 percent. Come on people. These women, have been raped twice and they got raped by whoever the person was, and then the system rapes them. There was a case in new york in the new york times, this girl was raped she saw the victim two years later and wrote a letter to the commissioner and said that is the guy that rape immediate and he said do you have a rape kit and yes, and he called the crime lab and that rape kit. So the rule dos allow for a commissioner to provide a brief response, we are instructed to refrain from any debate, but my colleague would like to provide a brief response. This is certainly no new issue. When i was appointed to it was raised that a former man that i had dated had accused me of Domestic Violence. It was in fact, a issue that was investigated by the Police Department, the San Francisco District Attorney office, and because i am an attorney, with the Supreme Court of the state of california. All three of those bodies have came back with judgments that there was no finding of Domestic Violence. I was involved in a relationship with someone who deserves my sympathy, more than my anger of being accused of Something Like that. I never struck anyone in anger. But i will not allow him or anyone else to play their hands on me in anger. And that was the situation. And i dont believe that there is ever an excuse for violence, but i do not ever, and i will not ever, let anyone violate my personal sense of safety and wellbeing. This is not an issue that i talk a great deal about, because i dont believe in. I dont believe in reliving my past publicly. But, since it was published in the paper, for someone elses motivations, and since every member of the board of supervisors who unanimously voted for me to sit where i sit today, all discussed the issues with me, i am fine to share it. I have not committed no act of Domestic Violence and never been found to commit an act and never admitted to such. And never pled guilty. I have never attacked anyone in a domestic or a personal situation, in anger. Not even the closest that i have ever come to attacking another person, is using my words. And i used these words, for anyone who wants to bring up the fact that i have lived through this personal tragedy, say what you will, about Lawrence Turman but one thing that you will not say about him is that he will live to the day to let you accuse him of something, to call him names, and it go unanswered. Before you come into this arena, and start pointing the fingers, i suggest that you do know the facts. Thank you, commissioner turman, any further Public Comment . Hello, juicy, welcome. My name is Berry Edmonds and i like to go by the name of juicy and i am glad that this man talks about Domestic Violence and mr. Turman talks about Domestic Violence and you may not sir, i am a person just like jason kol ins and sands. And i can say true to say that i am black and gay today and not feel that i have to be in the shadows. But, what i just went through, eviction, and i have remained in my place, but on the day that williams won the u. S. Open i go to the kitchen and i stay in a building that is inaudible where a lot of people are on crack and speed, and the crack addicted woman attacked me with a coffee mug and money should get this off and she started to threaten and say that i am going to do the other arm and tossed the other gentleman and said that i am going to the other arm and call you you a punk and this and that, and i went to church, and i go to a church at baptist and it helped me with the pain, but i know when this comes off for monday, i cannot go to the tv room, i cannot watch tv since the Michael Brown service, because we have one tv at the hotel where we go, she is there and it is territory and i will find out that the people who do the drugs there is the behavior before after and during, but one thing, since i am a black gay man she figured that i am a very low class, she figured that i am not going, and i am not used to sh and i see my mother go through the abuse and so i know that it is not and i dont know that you are not supposed to hit the woman back and this and that, and i know that i am not standing up to this lady, and harm and she said, i am going to do the other arm next time. And so a man who go to her for services, for drugs, and sex, i am not one of those persons, and i tell them, i dont support that, and you never get that from me. But i dont want to know where i stand and i am confused because i live in a place, in the hotel where i dont feel that i have access to my kitchen, and i dont have coming in and she will talk about the guys who are able to do the same thing that she did and i am a medical marijuana person and that is drugs and that is the prescription, but i note that the crack and speed is not the things that your behavior and she is not the same person and she is an animal when she attacked me. And just me being to myself, and i come here, and it is easy to put the black man in jail and i know that the blue angels that come in town and you ladies and gentlemen and gentlemans always are my blue angels and i need the help in this at home. And thank you, mr. Turman for your great, and i feel comfortable. So, juicy, just if you do need to file a Police Report or talk to anyone, you know, that i will direct you to deputy chief or the sergeant to make sure that you filed the appropriate reports for any injuries that you suffered, okay . Thank you. Any further Public Comment hearing none, call the next line item. Report and announcements. Line 4, item 4 a, chiefs report, and discussion and review of recent activities and the status update, regarding the department of Domestic Violence unit. October is proving to be the busiest month by a mile. Go giants. Go giants in deed. And last week we were able to go through the blue grass and the ten, ten parade and the arrival of the uss america and the street fair and the reopening of the Saint Anthonys dining room and the Public Health fair walk in china town and all super well attended and the weather was perfect and all with that, and all went without incident, and unfortunately on sunday we did suffer a homicide in the bay view, at about 2 30 in the morning, on the 200 block of the harbor road and we believe that we have a suspect identified and we actually have even attempted to arrest him, and missed the opportunity once, and hopefully, we will have him in custody, and in the short order, and the giants were able to clinch the series and to go on and start against the cardinals on saturday and they will be back here in San Francisco in mid week, and in the meantime, President Biden has been here and vice President Biden has been here since wednesday and he goes out and president obama will arrive on friday. And depart,. They come in october. Yeah, oracle world, and just loaded out, and dream force is loading in. And former secretary of state clinton will be here to be a keynote speaker at dream force and the blue angels will practice on friday. The heritage parade will be on sunday. And in the middle of all of this, we did have two unfortunate events, that we had another officer involved shooting, last night, on the 400 block of brian, and officers working in the crime suppression in and around the ballpark because of the large clouds, both pedestrian and vehicle and found a car that appeared to be in door, working and casing the area with three occupants and about 15 minutes after they ran a computer on the car, and the car parked at jack london alley and brian street where they committed an auto burglary, when the officers moved in, the driver produced a firearm and to a degree that the officers felt that one of the officers felt