2 police commissioners back SFPD Chief Scott after union calls his prior apology 'pathetic'
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) - The president and vice president of the San Francisco Police Commission praised police Chief William Scott Sunday, saying his apology for the May 10 police raid of a freelance journalist's home and office was the "mark of a leader."
Police Commission president Robert Hirsch and vice president Damali Taylor issued the joint statement, speaking for themselves and not the entire commission, weighing in on how Scott has handled the aftermath of the raid of freelance journalist Bryan Carmody's home and office. The raid was part of an investigation into a leaked police report that contained details of the Feb. 22 death of San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi. Police want to know how Carmody received the report, which he then sold to three local television stations, including to KTVU.
Among other things, that report said Adachi died in the company of a woman who wasn't his wife.
In Sunday's joint statement, Hirsch and Taylor said Scott's apology Friday for the May 10 raid -- which Scott had initially defended -- was a rare step for any police chief, and that he took that step "completely and unequivocally."
"That is the mark of a leader," the statement said.
While Hirsch and Taylor would not comment on the Adachi investigation itself, their statement Sunday offered praise for Scott, whom they described as a "person of high integrity" under whose leadership police use of force has gone down and who has started meaningful reforms.
Sunday's police commission statement comes after the San Francisco Police Officers' Association on Saturday called for Scott to resign, calling Scott's apology a "pathetic, deceitful and shameful display of
self-preservation."
Tony Montoya, head of the police officers' association, said Scott "defended the search warrant in a trial balloon press release just days ago and when that balloon exploded he flip-flopped to being opposed to the search warrant."
On May 15, Scott said he was confident that a search warrant obtained to search Carmody's home and office was legal and in compliance with the Shield Law, which prohibits law enforcement from forcing journalists to reveal their sources.
Later Saturday, a SFPD spokesman defended Scott's actions, and said a second investigation of how police handled the raid has been requested."Chief Scott has made it abundantly clear that transparency and accountability are paramount in this criminal investigation," SFPD Officer
Robert Rueca said in a statement Saturday.
Scott had said on Friday that an outside agency will take over the police department's criminal investigation into the case.