SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The California Dept. of Justice (DOJ) state oversight of the San Francisco Police Dept. was lifted Tuesday by the California Attorney General after nearly seven years, since 2018, according to KTVU Fox 2.
KTVU reports that a 124-page long report and statement was released by AG Bonta to praise SFPD for its constitutional behavior. SFPD implemented 263 of the 272 reforms (96.7 percent) recommended by Bonta’s office, while the remaining nine forms are in progress.
However, San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju disagrees, charging SFPD has continued to “pull over more people of color and use force on Black and brown men in an ‘unacceptable’ manner,” despite the completion of paper reforms, reported KTVU.
Raju added that repeated failures and continued scandals, such as “misleading and falsifying traffic stop data…misusing rape DNA to arrest survivors…officers’ routine misuse of sick leave, and an officer’s illicit affair with confidential informant” reveal “an absence of meaningful oversight within the department, particularly when serious misconduct cases sit unresolved for months or even years.”
KTVU reports Police Chief Bill Scott has a “strong organizational and cultural commitment to reform” with the SFPD, according to Bonta.
In regard to Bonta’s statement that SFPD’s efforts will “increase public trust by improving its policing practices, transparency, and accountability,” the AG is “optimistic that SFPD will build on these reforms to continue to reduce racial disparities in stops, searches, and the use of force by SFPD officers,” reported KTVU.
KTVU revealed state oversight began after “several controversial police shootings.”
As San Francisco crime rates are at a 20-year low, San Francisco’s new mayor, Daniel Lurie, agreed to officially end the oversight, said KTVU.
KTVU reports crime has hit its lowest point since 2001, with homicides at a 60-year low as of 2024 according to Scott and outgoing Mayor London Breed.
Between 2017 and 2023, KTVU notes that SFPD’s overall use of force, specifically involving all racial groups, has declined.
Regardless, Bonta specifies that SFPD still requires improvement as “the department’s use-of-force statistics still show racial disparities,” according to KTVU.
KTVU informs the department has reached a “significant milestone” in hopes that these new reforms will “pave the way for the future of policing.”
KTVU stated San Francisco is not the only city experiencing police department oversight, as the Antioch Police Department agreed to one just last week after a racist text scandal, noting Vallejo agreed to a five-year oversight, where they must complete 45 reforms.
KTVU reports the Oakland Police Department (OPD) has also experienced federal oversight for more than 20 years after the Riders scandal occurred, where several Black men sued, claiming they were falsely arrested after police planted drugs and were then beaten up by the officers.
During then-Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong’s tenure, KTVU found the OPD almost emerged from federal oversight before Armstrong got fired in 2023 by then-Major Sheng Thao.
In 2020, a KTVU investigation discovered Bay Area law enforcement agencies were engaging in long-term reform efforts, such as “having independent oversight like Oakland.”
Despite injuring or killing people, they were paying substantially less in civil penalties compared to departments that were left to the police to police themselves.
During this period, Oakland and San Francisco displayed “stunning turnarounds after taking on some of the most comprehensive reforms in the country,” reported KTVU.
Opposingly, other Bay Area cities experienced much larger police payouts that stemmed from wrongful deaths and excessive force payouts—they had minimal to no oversight.
