San Francisco Police Department

The San Francisco Police Department is led by a Chief of Police who is appointed by the Mayor of San Francisco. The chief works with two assistant chiefs and five deputy chiefs directing the six bureaus: Administration, Airport, Chief of Staff, Field Operations, Professional Standards and Principled Policing and Special Operations, as well as the Municipal Transportation Authority, and the Public Utilities Commission. There are commanders appointed to assist the Deputy Chief with the day-to-day operation of the bureaus.

The standard issue side arms issued by the SFPD are the SIG Sauer P226 chambered in .40 S&W.[16] Officers also carry batons (straight wood/straight expandable), pepper spray, a portable radio and handcuffs, and certified officers are authorized to carry AR-15 platform rifles chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO on patrol.

SFPD officer on a Trek bicycle.

Vehicles

Modern SFPD Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor

SFPD Chevrolet Tahoe

The SFPD has several types of vehicles in use, among them are Trek Bicycle Corporation bicycles, the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, Chevrolet Tahoe, and more recently the 2013 Ford Taurus and 2013 Ford Explorer. Like most police agencies throughout California, SFPD patrol units are painted in black clearcoat with the roof, doors, and pillars painted white from the factory. The front doors of their motor vehicles bear a blue seven-pointed star with the letters "S.F.P.D." printed in gold. This decal is also printed on the trunk, either near the center of the decklid (on sedans) or near the right taillight (on SUVs). The car's 'shop number' (used to identify all vehicles operated by the city) is printed on the front doors below the A-pillars, on the trunk near the left rear taillight, and on the roof to help air units visually identify cars. On the rear side panels on both sides of the car is a sticker reading "EMERGENCY DIAL 911".

Uniform

3 SFPD officers in uniform.

• The standard uniform is composed of a dark blue shirt and pants, with black braid, brass buttons which are stamped with the city seal and "SF POLICE." The black braid down the length of the pant increases in width as one advances up the ranks.
• Mounted police have a gold stripe going down the uniform pants
• Traffic Company have the "winged wheel" patch on the right sleeve of any long sleeve garment
• The Peaked cap of the officers has an 8-Point design unlike the "air force smooth cap" design of the LAPD or SFFD. The hat is adorned with a brass hat piece depicting the Arms of San Francisco.
• The uniform "badge" for Officers rank is a sterling silver seven-point star of a design basically unchanged since 1849. The terms "badge" or "shield" are not used by the department in any form. The "badge" worn by all officers of the department is referred to as a "star" and is recognized as such by the city and the department. Officers' stars are smooth polished metal, while those of Sergeants and above have decorative engraved designs. Those of Inspectors and above are 10k gold-filled badges instead of silver.
• The uniform originally had no patch, as with officers of the LAPD. It was not until 1969 that the patch, incorporating the San Francisco crest of arms, phoenix and city motto was added to the uniform in 1970, adorning both sleeves.

Title	Insignia
Chief
Assistant Chief
Deputy Chief
Commander
Captain
Lieutenant
Inspector
Deputy Inspector
Sergeant
Officer

The SFPD has supplemental levels for ranks up to captain, depending on P.O.S.T. certification. Example; Q-2, Q-3 or Q-4 Police Officer for Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) certification. Inspectors do not use chevrons to identify their rank—instead they wear a gold star badge similar to lieutenants and above. Sergeants and officers wear a silver star badge. Inspectors were initially the equivalent of a lieutenant rank and pay, but are now equivalent to a sergeant rank and pay. Tenured officers will have blue and gold hash-marks on the lower left sleeve of their Class A, B, and C (BDU) long-sleeved shirts. Each mark represents five years of service.

SFPD members are also eligible for bronze, silver, and gold Medals of Valor. Annually the nominees for these awards are reviewed by a board of police captains.[17] A Meritorious Conduct Award can also be awarded to department members.

SFPD Reserve Officers patch

The San Francisco Police Reserve Officer Unit is composed of individuals who wish to provide community service and give back to the city they live or work in. These officers understand the need for quality policing and community involvement, but cannot make the full commitment on becoming full-time peace officers.

A San Francisco Police Reserve Officer is a POST (Police Officer Standards and Training)-certified peace officer who volunteers his or her time. A Reserve Officer is classified as a Q-0 and has the same duties and authority as a full-time paid Police Officer while on duty. Officers patrol in vehicles, on bikes, on foot, and in some cases on marine craft. Reserve officers must meet the same stringent and comprehensive POST standards and training as regular full-time police officers. Most San Francisco Police Reserve Officers are Level 1 Reserve Officers, which is the highest level that is recognized by the State of California. The SFPD does accept Level 2 or Level 3 Reserve Officers, but based upon their respective levels which determine how a Reserve Officer is deployed.

Reserve Officers are responsible for serving a minimum of 24 volunteer hours per month to retain peace officers status, although there are Reserve Officers who routinely contribute two to three times that number.

Reserve Officers are involved in many areas of police work. Although most reserve officers actively participate in patrol, others work for such details as Muni, the Fugitive Recovery Enforcement Team, Vice, juvenile, emergency operations, DUI check-points, transporting prisoners, Command Van duty, and fixed posts at special events like 49er Football games and Sigmund Stern Grove performances.

Reserves are now organized like a company, with a complement of 40 Reserve Officers divided into three squads, each with a designated squad sergeant. For special events like New Year's Eve, Halloween night, and other citywide events, Reserves are assigned as a squad.

Before Reserve candidates are considered, they must meet the same eligibility criteria as a Q-2 Police Officer Recruit. Furthermore, each candidate must completed the required training prior to being appointed as a Reserve Police Officer. Once appointed, that officer must attend Continuing Professional Training, which is consistent with the requirements of regular full-time Officers every two years. There is also a 400-hour Field Training Program that Level 1 Reserves Officers must complete with a FTO officer. Reserve officers are held to the same performance standards as a full-time Police Officer and serve at the pleasure of the Chief of Police.

Regular SFPD shoulder patch in subdued colors for SWAT work

San Francisco has been known for their elite SWAT team, composed of volunteer and selected officers from the entire agency. Most training is done in-house, with occasional and required training by FBI instructors, other Federal Agencies and private Military instruction. The SWAT division participates in planned and coordinated raids with agencies such as the FBI, DEA, and the ATF. As of 2007, it is mandatory that SWAT team members are together, sometimes during routine patrol, and can be seen among the streets of San Francisco in BDU and traveling in a marked SUV, to ensure a quick and timely response to calls. They were under political fire in the highly publicized 1998 Western Addition Raid, in which more than 90 SFPD SWAT and Federal Agents raided a Western Addition housing project.[18] The SWAT team also executes high-risk warrants in the City and County of San Francisco. They are also one of the oldest serving agencies doing city crime suppression (the act of saturating high-crime areas with large numbers of officers and police presence—a more proactive approach) along with LAPD SWAT and NYPD Emergency Service Units.[19]

The San Francisco Housing Authority Police was formed as an offshoot of the department in 1938 to patrol the various housing projects of the city.[20] In the 1990s they were completely absorbed back into the main Police Department.

In the mid-1990s, San Francisco experienced the explosion of drug-related homicides,[21] which escalated to approximately 40 murders. Then-Chief Fred Lau sought the expertise of his veteran homicide Inspectors, Napoleon Hendrix (now deceased) and Prentice "Earl" Sanders (later Chief of Police), to put together a "top notch" task force, called CRime Unit to Stop Homicide, to solve and suppress the murders and investigate violent illegal narcotics cell groups and other violent crimes. Inspector Bob McMillan, Officer Nash Balinton and his partner Officer Paul Lozada,[22] Officer Mike Bolte, Officer Michael Philpott, and Sergeants John Monroe, Maurice Edwards and Kervin Silas, were personally selected to the unit by the Inspectors.

San Francisco Police Motorcycle Division solo officers on the Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycles at Treasure Island

The SFPD was one of the founding departments in the field of utilizing Police motorcycles (along with their counterparts across the bay in Berkeley). The unit was founded in 1909, and has grown ever since. They are officially under the command of the SFPD Traffic Division. They participate in many duties such as traffic enforcement, patrol, riot control, and special events and escorts. It is the only fully functional department that utilizes the entire traffic fleet for escorts in the nation. No other metropolitan city utilizes all its motor bikes for escorts but SFPD.

The entire 43-man unit is based at the Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant Street. Unlike most cities, they patrol as solo officers (hence the name SOLOS). They can frequently be seen throughout the city. The bulk of the unit is composed of Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycles. There is a separate division called Honda Unit, that is composed of Suzuki DR-Z400S dual-sport motorcycles (which is under the command of the Special Operations Bureau and not the same as Traffic), for city patrol and patrol in and around the area of Golden Gate Park. Otherwise, every one of the 10 main police stations in the city have 2 motorcycles under their command, used for patrol around their districts exclusively.

The SFPD "Aero" Squadron was at its peak in the mid-1970s, with the number of helicopter and small plane flights rivaling the frequency of the Los Angeles Police Department. After several accidents (one of which a helicopter crashed in Lake Merced, killing Officer Charles Logasa in 1971) and complaints about the "Eye in the Sky" program, the unit was disbanded. The helicopter unit was featured prominently in the first Dirty Harry film, identifying a sniper on a roof top before a murder was committed. The unit was reactivated in the late 1990s, but after another fatal crash (which killed two SFPD officers, Kirk Bradley Brookbush and James Francis Dougherty) the Aero unit was put into an "inactive" status indefinitely.[23] In times where it needs air support, the SFPD contacts the California Highway Patrol who have a Napa air base.

The original San Francisco Police Academy was built in 1895 and was located on the West End adjacent to Golden Gate Park. The building, no longer in use, had the facilities to accommodate 25 trainees. In the 1960s, the building now used as the San Francisco Police Academy Complex was built originally as Diamond Heights Elementary School located at 350 Amber Drive, just behind the Diamond Heights Safeway. The building was built in the 1960s hugging the Diamond Heights/Glen Park Canyon. Almost immediately upon completion, the property was determined to be unsafe and sliding into the canyon. The school was closed for one year, shored up and reopened. It was closed as a public school in the 1980s. Subsequently, the building is used by the SFPD for training. It is surrounded by a heavily wooded forest area and is near a shopping mall and apartment complex. As of recently (2008), there are three academy classes in session annually, with individual classes taking place for 31 to 32 weeks, year round. Pier 94 is also used for vehicle training exercises and mock police car chases, and Lake Merced is the location of the academy's firing range. With a boom in retirees in the coming years, a projected 700+ officers will be hired within the next five to ten years, meaning full academy classes for some time. Lateral officers are currently being hired, and are being hired on an ongoing basis.[24]

San Francisco Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant Street.

For 56 years, SFPD headquarters was located at the San Francisco Thomas J. Cahill Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant Street, which houses a number of criminal courts, jail facilities, investigative and support units, as well as "Southern Station".[25] The Headquarters of the San Francisco Sheriff's Department is housed in an adjacent building. On April 16, 2015, the SFPD officially moved its headquarters to a new location at Mission Bay.[26]

The SFPD has been portrayed in films such as The Sniper, Vertigo, Freebie and the Bean, The Laughing Policeman, Bullitt, the Dirty Harry film series, 48 Hrs., A View to a Kill, Metro, Rush Hour, and Zodiac, as well as television series such as The Lineup (aka San Francisco Beat), Ironside, The Streets of San Francisco, McMillan & Wife, Nash Bridges, The Division, Killer Instinct, The Evidence, Charmed (1998–2006), Murder in the First and Monk. The Dirty Harry film series is known for shaping the popular view of the department, with a hard-nosed stance on crime and often using "cowboy" tactics (shoot first, stakeouts, and preemptive raids).

In the days of old-time radio, there were a number of drama series built around the activities of the SFPD. Carlton E. Morse created four different shows based on SFPD files for NBC's Pacific Coast Network, Chinatown Squad, Barbary Coast Nights, Killed in Action, and To the Best of Their Ability.

The SFPD has also had a strong presence in novels and short stories. Sidney Herschel Small wrote a series of thirty stories that appeared in Detective Fiction Weekly between 1931 and 1936 featuring Sergeant Jimmy Wentworth, the head of the Chinatown Squad, whose adventures were presumably based, if loosely, on the activities of Jack Manion, the real-life commander of SFPD's Chinatown detail. In the early 1960s, Breni James wrote two novels about Sergeant Gun Mattson, uniformed patrol supervisor at the Ingleside District Station, The Night of the Kill (1961), which was an Edgar nominee for Best First Novel, and The Shakeup (1964). Ernest K. Gann's 1963 novel, Of Good and Evil, tells the story of one busy day in the professional life of San Francisco's police chief, Colin Hill, a character apparently modeled on SFPD's real-life chief at that time, Thomas J. Cahill, to whom the book is dedicated. More recently, Collin Wilcox wrote a long series featuring Lieutenant Frank Hastings of SFPD's Homicide Detail. Laurie R. King won an Edgar for her first novel, A Grave Talent (1993), which introduced Homicide Inspector Kate Martinelli, who has gone on to headline such books as With Child (1997), an Edgar nominee, and The Art of Detection (2006), winner of the Lambda Award for Best Lesbian Mystery Novel. James Patterson's novels about Homicide Inspector Lindsay Boxer, introduced in 1st to Die (2001), have become best-sellers, and were the basis for the short-lived TV series Women's Murder Club. Former SFPD detective and current Bay Area private investigator Jerry Kenneally has written two novels featuring Homicide Inspector Jack Kordic, The Conductor (1996) and The Hunted (1999). After a trilogy of police novels set in other parts of the Bay Area, retired San Jose Police Chief Joseph D. McNamara wrote one novel, Code 211 Blue (1996), about a narcotics inspector who uncovers corruption within the SFPD. Another former cop, Robin Burcell, who spent twenty years in law enforcement, first as an officer in the Lodi Police, then later as a criminal investigator for the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office, wrote four novels featuring Homicide Inspector Kate Gillespie, the first of which, Every Move She Makes (1999), won the Barry for Best Paperback Original, and the third of which, Deadly Legacy (2003), won the Anthony in the same category.

Some San Francisco-set police novels have explored The city's rich history. With Siberia Comes a Chill (1990), by former Inyo County Deputy Sheriff Kirk Mitchell, features SFPD Homicide Inspector John Kost who, in April 1945, while conducting a murder investigation as the United Nations is meeting for the first time in San Francisco, finds himself pitted against an NKVD assassin. White Rabbit by David Daniels, set during 1967's Summer of Love, follows Homicide Inspector John Sparrow as he pursues a serial killer stalking the residents of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.

A future version of the SFPD play a minor role in a handful of missions in the video game Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, most notably they assist the military in stopping a van carrying drones to destroy the Golden Gate Bridge. Unfortunately they fail, resulting in the destruction of the bridge, pinning down an aircraft carrier. The main protagonist saves one SFPD sergeant from plunging to his death from the wreckage of the bridge. Most main protagonists of the iOS novel Cause of Death are officers of the SFPD. In fact, a main protagonist of the game (Malachi "Mal" Fallon) has his name taken from that of Malachi Fallon of the real SFPD.

The SFPD has been fictionalized in the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as the San Fierro Police Department and in the 2014 animated film Big Hero 6 as the San Fransokyo Police Department.

The Mentalist character Teresa Lisbon is former SFPD.

The character of Beau from Colony is a 30-year veteran of the department.

Sonic the Hedgehog character Tom Wachowski is accepted into joining the SFPD at the beginning of the film, but later decides not to go.

SFPD officers at a protest in the Mission District

In 1937, an investigation, referred to as the "Atherton Report,"[27] by District Attorney Matthew Brady found that more than $1 million per year was being pocketed by officers from regular payoffs by prostitution, gambling and other criminal interests. It has also dealt with attacks such as the Preparedness Day Bombing in 1916 and the San Francisco Police Department Park Station bombing in the 1960s by leftist radicals.

On October 6, 1989, SFPD officers initiated a police riot in the Castro District following a peaceful march held by ACT UP to protest the United States government's actions during the ongoing AIDS pandemic. The event, known as the Castro Sweep, resulted in several dozen arrests and numerous injuries.[28]

Recent examples of controversy include racist and homophobic texts Racist, homophobic texts by San Francisco police trigger case reviews, police shootings of citizens, the reaction to Critical Mass bicycle rides and protests in the Financial District against U.S. foreign policy. The rate of complaints against officers and "excessive force" cases are lower relative to other big-city departments, such as the LAPD, the NYPD, or CPD. But the city continues to have one of the highest complaint rates, particularly when analyzed on a per-capita basis, factoring in the relatively small population of San Francisco compared to Los Angeles or New York. This could be attributed to several factors, including the dramatic increase of so-called "transient population", or those coming to visit the city (increasing the population to approximately 1.3 million), or the proactive nature of the Office of Citizen Complaints, or OCC. The OCC, created by San Francisco City Charter, has been known to solicit complaints from people contacted by police.

Notable incidents and events include the Golden Dragon massacre, a deadly shooting between Chinese gang members in the city's Chinatown district; the 101 California Street shootings in 1993; and the death of Aaron Williams while in police custody in 1995. In the latter case, several officers were charged with using excessive force, including Marc Andaya, described as having kicked Williams when he was on the ground. After two years and revelations of numerous complaints and two federal lawsuits against Andaya as an officer with the Oakland Police Department before he moved to San Francisco, in June 1997 Andaya was fired by the San Francisco Police Commission. Van Jones and the Bay City PoliceWatch were credited with organizing and keeping up community pressure against the department on this case.[29]

The crime lab's reputation worsened after an employee was arrested in March 2010 for stealing cocaine. This resulted in hundreds of cases being tossed out of court.[30]

November 20, 2002: A scandal known as Fajitagate occurred when three off-duty police officers—Matthew Tonsing, David Lee, and Alex Fagan Jr.—assaulted two San Francisco residents, Adam Snyder and Jade Santoro, over a bag of fajitas. Alex Fagan Jr. is the son of SFPD Assistant Chief Alex Fagan, who later became Chief. Nine officers and Chief Earl Sanders were involved in a cover-up regarding the fight. This incident has led to a grand jury indictment of the parties involved. However, unable to prove that a cover-up existed, the district attorney dropped the charges against former Chief Earl Sanders. Acting Chief Alex Fagan also resigned. In 2006, a civil jury found former officers Fagan and Tonsing liable for damages suffered in the beating, awarding plaintiffs Snyder and Santoro $41,000 in compensation.

Public Defender Jeff Adachi released video footage from security cameras that showed different cases of SFPD officers entering apartments without warrants, plain-clothed officers not displaying badges, and officers removing belongings that were never accounted for in police reports and other court documents. In March 2011, the FBI opened an investigation into alleged police misconduct.[31] The misconduct resulted in the DA dismissing 57 criminal cases because the scandal had compromised them.[32]

In 2012, 12 employees (sworn or unsworn) of the department were charged with crimes. Seven were cited for drunk driving, three for theft, one for possession of drug paraphernalia and one for unauthorized access to official databases.[33]

The SFPD has often been criticized for the high salaries received by staff.[34] Greg Suhr, is the highest-paid police chief in the country, at $321,577.[35] In 2019, an SFPD officer's starting salary is $87,000, rising to $130,000 after seven years of service.[36]

The SFPD currently has ten main police stations throughout the city in addition to a number of police substations.

Metro Division:

• 1) Central Station: 766 Vallejo St.

• 2) Mission Station: 630 Valencia St.
• 3) Northern Station: 1125 Fillmore St.
• 4) Southern Station, Public Safety Building: 1251 3rd St.
• 5) Tenderloin Station: 301 Eddy St.

Golden Gate Division:

• 6) Bayview Station: 201 Williams Ave.
• 7) Ingleside Station: 1 Sgt. John V. Young Ln.
• 8) Park Station: 1899 Waller Street
• 9) Richmond Station: 461 6th Ave.
• 10) Taraval Station: 2345 24th Ave.

Sub Station and Special Division

• 11) San Francisco Police Academy: 350 Amber Dr.
• 12) San Francisco International Airport Police: International Terminal, located on fifth floor

Since the establishment of the San Francisco Police Department, 102 officers have died in the line of duty.[43]

The causes of death are as follows:

• Male: 85.15%
• Female: 14.85%
• White: 49.39%
• Hispanic: 16.46%
• Asian: 16.55%
• African-American/Black: 9.58%
• Filipino: 5.79%
• Native American/ Alaska Native: 0.30%
• Other: 1.35%
• Unknown: 0.57%[44]

The diversity of the department has increased significantly since 1972, when only 150 of the department's 2000 officers were of a non-white background.[45]

• List of law enforcement agencies in California
• San Francisco Police Officers Association
• San Francisco District Attorney's Office

• Elliot, Bryn (March–April 1997). "Bears in the Air: The US Air Police Perspective". Air Enthusiast. No. 68. pp. 46–51. ISSN 0143-5450.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to San Francisco Police Department.

• Official website
• San Francisco Police Patrol Specials
• San Francisco Police Officer Association
• SFPD Gallery of Pictures
• Jesse Brown Cook Scrapbooks Documenting San Francisco History and Law Enforcement (ca. 1895–1936) online archive, The Bancroft Library
• 1937 Atherton Report on SFPD police graft
• 1860-1870s Picture of a San Francisco Police officer