Who's in charge, and who lives where

Good morning––here comes the rain! A quick news update before the storm hits:

The Department of Police Accountability has accused the San Francisco Police Department of pushing it out of police shooting investigations. The allegations came at a Police Commission meeting to discuss a new memorandum of understanding to establish procedures for such investigations.

Under the city charter, the Department of Police Accountability is mandated to investigate police officers for misconduct, including police shootings. Currently, said DPA staff attorney Diana Rosenstein, the DPA has access to police briefings at the scene of a shooting, and is permitted to observe witness interviews in real time. The DPA is also entitled to records and documents from the SFPD for use in its investigations, though it often struggles to get such information in a timely manner.

Under the new SFPD proposal, the oversight body would have access to a scene only with the District Attorney’s consent. Rosenstein called this “a huge step backward.” She said the proposed agreement would curtail the power the DPA has to carry out investigations, making the DA the final authority. “So if the DA’s office tells us to take a hike, we have to take a hike that’s going to affect our ability to conduct the best possible investigation we can,” Rosenstein said. The discussion was tabled until next week’s police commission meeting.

Thanks to all the readers who used and commented on our snazzy census exploration tool. We’ve updated it, adding data on disability, education, housing age, and rental vs ownership properties; fixing bugs for Safari users, and making data downloads more readable. Let us know what you discover.

More soon––stay dry!

Sara