The clock on the wall of the Crocker Amazon Clubhouse was nearing 6:10 p.m. The Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board’s third meeting to receive community input on qualifications for a new leader had been scheduled to begin at six, and the five board members present discussed whether to wait on the two missing members or to begin the meeting.
What didn’t they mention?
That they were missing the community as well. Only one of the fold-out chairs in the clubhouse was occupied — by board member Ovava Afuhaamango’s cousin.
Board members William Palmer II and Xochitl Carrion never arrived, the latter due to a personal emergency. Just one additional participant joined, marking another failure of the board to draw crowds, let alone anyone at all, to their meetings.
This is the third such meeting to draw rock-bottom levels of attendance: The first two had just a single participant each, with board members resorting to in-depth conversations with their lone attendee. At the first, an opera house’s worth of chairs sat empty; at the second meeting, board members wisely put out just eight chairs.
This time, that number had climbed slightly, to 12.
The five present board members — Julie Soo, Ovava Afuhaamango, Jayson Wechter, Michael Nguyen, and Dion-Jay Brookter — managed to drag the meeting out for more than an hour. With little audience participation, the members demonstrated that a meeting of sorts can still be had in an empty community center.
| No. of Participants | Jayson Wechter | Michael Nguyen | Willam Palmer II. | Xochitl Carrion | Ovava Afuhaamango | Julie Soo | Dion-Jay Brookter | |
| 3/14 in District 10 | 1 | Present | Absent | Absent | Present | Present | Present | Present |
| 3/28 in District 5 | 1 | Present | Present | Present | Absent | Present | Present | Present |
| 4/11 in District 11 | 2 | Present | Present | Absent | Absent | Present | Present | Present |
The call for public comment came early in the meeting, and was answered by the winds and cries of children playing in a nearby playground.
Rosario Cervantes, the second and final participant to arrive, identified herself as a member of District 11’s Democratic Club. She took one of the three-page handouts with the job description of the yet-to-be hired leader of the department, who will investigate allegations of poor conditions or treatment in San Francisco’s jails.
“This is just new,” she said, to break the silence. She added that she would have to read more about the role before having anything to contribute. By the end of the meeting, she suggested that the board look for someone with a background in restorative justice.
Afuhaamango’s cousin suggested routine psych evaluations for the hiree.
Board member Jayson Wechter read out the inspector general’s responsibilities from his binder, which will also include investigating complaints, as well as analyzing trends of deputy misconduct.
The board then took off, discussing topics ranging from the genesis of the board by voter referendum in 2021, the Sheriff’s Office’s outdated technology, and the two types of oversight boards: auditing versus investigative – a distinction which went unexplained.
At around 7:10 p.m., board member Brookter called on the others to not get “too bogged down.”
“I want to bring us back down,” he said.
“It’s been great spending so much time in the community,” Brookter said as the nearly empty meeting came to a close. “But there’s so much that we still need to hear.”
Afuhaamango pleaded for the group to spread the word.
“It’s a matter of getting the word out,” she said. “A lot of people don’t know we exist, or what we do, or how to contact us.” She added that she had asked her large family to come, but that none of them had been interested, aside from her cousin.
Board member Julie Soo said that the opening, posted earlier this month, already has a double-digit number of submitted applications. The board will hold two more meetings: Later in April in the Mission, then the final one will be in the Richmond in mid-May.
The next sheriff’s oversight meeting takes place Friday, April 21, at the Mission Arts Center, from 6 to 8 p.m. The board can also be reached for comment at SDOB@sfgov.org.
Oversight of SFSD Is necessary and overdue. Also, SFSD investigations need to be taken from DPA Director Henderson’s little money maker. The agency is being treated like a wicked stepchild because it has no physical audience. But, it doesn’t appear that anyone has invested in its success. While the voters of SF gave it life, it still got kicked to the curb. There’s no cable coverage like the Police Com meetings. Maybe that’s why those two commissioners joined at the hip act in such an uncivil manner. One of the commenters stated that we are watching all of you despite the lack of coverage. That is the truth. So take the task seriously.
It also seems that most of the commission lacks an understanding of what SFSD does. That really plays into the hands of our beloved Sheriff. He would prefer it that way. Only the guy from law enforcement and the other from civilian oversight seem to really get it. The rest seem to be placeholders, waiting for their chance to run for political office. What else is new? The rest of you, get to work. Things are bad enough.
This will be most entertaining Oversight Commission if …
They move it to City Hall along with other groups.
I’m betting it will be my favorite commission since the Taxi Commission.
Testimony on the First In-Jail School in the Nation.
Demonstrations of entering cell block during a riot.
Or, taking down a deranged 300 pounder.
Trust an old Arm Chair Quarterback.
They should look for a young lawyer like Mike Henessey was when he began.
In his twenties I think.
He lasted nearly 35 glorious years.
Wouldn’t sign off on the New Round Jail til everything worked.
Was on 60 minutes.
Go Niners !!
Civilian enforcement and investigation of law enforcement is needed. It is about time the Sheriff’s Department had this oversight. This board needs to stop its distracting petty in-house arguments such as what happened during last week’s commission meeting. Please see SFGOV recordings towards the end of the meeting to see how individual egos got in the way of conducting business. Who cares who the media spokesman is for the board. No one was losing power or authority if you were not named the media spokesman. Get the agency up and running and work together to complete that task. Maybe only 1 or 2 persons showed up for its meetings, people are watching you. Please get your act together. Also, prior law enforcement experience should not be an exclusion for the position.
I know we are all sick of it but this should be a Zoom or remote meeting until there are more people in attendance on a regular basis.
I think their intent is very good, but I think these meetings are “it could have been an email” meetings. Maybe instead of doing in-person outreach for community input, they should just create a survey to send to communities. But honestly, I think even that wouldn’t be necessary. I think they’re on the right track, they’ve had excellent guest speakers in the commission meetings to advise them, so they should just hire someone based on those recommendations. Commission you have our blessing, go!
One thing I think that would be worth looking at for the commission is the charter rule disallowing prior law enforcement to be in these type of roles. This group wouldn’t be my first pick, but I’m sure someone with that background who wants to genuinely reform the justice system might be a great fit for this role.
A law enforcement background is ruled out because old loyalties and old mindsets get in the way of reform. I’d make an exception only if the person with the enforcement background had, since leaving law enforcement, been deeply involved in reform efforts and/or restorative justice. Otherwise, it’s too easy for someone to claim they’ve seen the light, get hired, and then let their brothers and sisters in blue off the hook.
I think “restorative justice” is a con job. If the burglars who trashed our house, stole a bunch of our stuff and then stole our car and ran over one of our neighbors, age 81, want to write letters of apology from prison, nothing is stopping them.