HSFC_2017_01_11

24HOURS ERVICE

WB SFChronicle.com | Wednesday,January 11, 2017|D3

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Department ofJustice,
and shortly before for-
mer Los Angeles Deputy
Police ChiefWilliam
Scott takesover as San
Franciscochief.
In the pastyear, the
commission helped lead
the charge for reform,
reopening thedepart-
ment’s use-of-force pol-
icy following the Decem-
ber 2015shooting of
Mario Woods, rolling
out body cameras to
officers, and helping to
select Scott after the
May 19 sh ooting of an
unarmed black woman
prompted the resigna-
tion of Greg Suhr.
“I think through the
last twoyears of an in-
credibly divisive national
conversation,we in San
Francisco have leaned
into the difficult con-
versations and made
decisions to bring us
closer together,”Loftus
said. “I feel like I’m
leaving the commission
in a great position to
continue the progresswe
made.”
Appointedby Mayor
Ed Lee in 2012,Loftus
was formerly a city pros-
ecutorwho went on to
work for Sen.Kamala
Harris in thestate at-
torneygeneral’s office.
As president of the com-
mission since 2014,she

earned a reputation for

hardwork and a belief

in collaboration.

In drafting policies for

the body cameras and

the departmentgeneral

order on use of force,

she formed task forces

of stakeholders that

include d the police

union, officer interest

groups, the publicde-

fender’s office, the

American Civil Liberties

Union and community

advocates.

“It’s to her credit, to

her leadership, thatshe

has beenable to corral

all of these diverse voic-

es,” saidJulie Trau n, an

attorney with the San

Francisco BarAssocia-

tion who helpeddevelop

the use-of-force policy.

“She has anability to

read people and see

where everyone is com-

ing from.She knows the

path the city needs to be

on, andwe reallygot a

better policy as a result

of sittingat the table.”

Lee released astate-

ment thankingLoftus

for her“dedication and

leadership.”

Loftus frequently took

heat from all sides, with

law enforcementwatch-

dogs criticizing her ties

to the establishment and

officers seeing her push

for reform as anattack

on their safety. Anactiv-

ist speakingduring pub-

lic comment once told

her hewanted to burn

off her eyebrows, while

the police union singled

her outover herstance

on the use-of-force pol-

icy.

The policy passed in

June with the union

objecting to two points,

a section prohibiting

officers from firingat

movingvehicles and

another prohibiting the

carotid restraint neck

hold.

After reaching an

impasse in negotiations

with the union, the com-

mission unanimously

passed aversion of the

policy in December that

allowed for officer dis-

cretion in extraordinary

circumstances.

Before thevote, the

union plastered a photo

of Loftus’ face at the end

of a videoad telling the

public to call herabout

allowing officers to

shoot at movingvehicles.

After a city officer

shot andwounded a

man in the OceanView

neighborhood lastweek,

the union said in a news

release thatLoftus must

“share responsibility” for

the shooting because

police have beendenied

Taser stun guns.Loftus

responded with aver-

sion of aquote from first

lady Mich elle Obama:

“When theygo low, I go

high.”

Union officials did not

respond Tuesday to a

request for comment.

“Contrary towhat

people may say or be-

lieve, she was not on any

one side,” saidSheryl

Davis, executive director

of the city’sHuman

Rights Commission.“A

lot of peopledo a lot of

talking, butshe actually

did thework. She was

fair, andshe was truly

dedicated todoing what

she feltwas best and

right for the community,

and not just for a few.”

Loftus was skilled at

building relationships,

including with rank-

and-file officers, said

TenderloinStation Capt.

Teresa Ewins.

“I reallyappreciate

anyone who comes to

the stations and speak to

the cops,”Ewins said.

“They work really, really

hard, and thefact that

they can askquestions

of someone on the com-

missionwas really big.”

Despite a landmark

year of policychanges,

Loftus said her proudest

moment on the commis-

sion was when it passed

a departmentgeneral

order in 2014 that sought

to minimize the trauma

inflicted onchildren

whose parents are ar-

rested.

“I remember looking

over at Chief Suhr after

it was done,” she said.

“Afterwards, he said,

‘This iswhy we’re here.

We’re using our time to

make things better.’ ”

She said SanFrancis-

co has an opportunity to

“really invest in the idea

that this isabout long-

term relationships of

trust” between police

and the community.

“I think SanFrancisco

and the SanFrancisco

Police Department is

really poised to be the

exampleacross the

country in investing in

this approach in the long

term,”she said,“so we

can change theway this

story goes.”

Vivian Ho is a San

Francisco Chronicle staff

writer. Email:vho@

sfchronicle.com Twitter:

@VivianHo

S.F. policeoversight

leaderto join sheriff

CarlosAvila Gonzalez/ The Chronicle 2016

San FranciscoPolice Commission President SuzyLoftus (right), who spent

almostfive years onthe oversig ht panel, will jointhe Sheriff’s Department.

Loftus from page D1

“She was fair,

and she was tr uly

dedicated to doing

what she felt was

best and right for

the community,

and not justfor

a few.”

Sheryl Davis, SanFrancisco

Human Rights Commission,

on outgoing Police Commission

PresidentSuzy Loftus

San Francisco police
investigators arrested a
city resident onsuspi-
cion ofmurder in the
death of a 61-year-old

manwho was assaulted

last week at a Tender-

loin busstop, officials

said.

The suspect,Abdul

Cole, 41,was arrested

Monday in the beating

death of Gabriel Rami-

rez. Police initially said

they were looking for

four or five men who

assaulted Ramirez on

Thursday in broad day-

light and left him to die.

The beating happened

at a busstop outside a

pizzeriaat Larkin and

O’Farrell streets.Police

officers found Ramirez

suffering from severe

head injuries and tried

to resuscitate him, but

he died after being

transported to SanFran-

cisco GeneralHospital.

The attackers were

not seen holdingweap-

ons, police said. Officials

have yet to identify a

motive in theslaying.

Investigators urge

anyone with information

to contact them. Anony-

mous tips can be leftat

(415) 575-4444.

Kimberly Veklerov is a

San Francisco Chronicle

staff writer. Email:

[email protected]

Twitter: @kveklerov

Arrest inTenderloin bus-stop beatingdeath

By Kimberly Veklerov