Equal Justice Society News

At a December 15 meeting in San Francisco City Hall, EJS staffers Miguel Gavaldon and Rico Oyola joined other civil rights leaders at a meeting with Mayor Gavin Newsom to recommend steps that the city could take to deal with the police officers who participated in the production of videos that mocked minorities and portrayed women as sex objects.

The Mayor was transparent with his frustration at the police video, stating, "This was an attack on the community."

Earlier in the week, Police Chief Heather Fong suspended 24 officers were suspended because of their alleged involvement in the video. In a December 13, the Equal Justice Society joined the California Coalition for Civil Rights in applauding Mayor Newsom and Police Chief Fong "for taking swift action in the form of suspensions, investigation, and a comprehensive review of the San Francisco Police department's culture and practices."

Officer Andrew Cohen of the Bayview Station, which serves a predominately African American community, produced the numerous videos over the past two years with the help of other officers. Some of the officers in the videos wore police uniforms as they responded to a variety of pretend calls. One video showed a homeless black woman yelling at white people after being hit by a patrol car. In another video, a female officer is putting on lipstick in the middle of a mock drug raid. In another, an officer states, "Most are going to die before they are twenty," as he drives down the streets of Bayview.

The Mayor said, "They are making fun of themselves but there is truth to it, and they did it on the taxpayer's dollar."
He noted, "The difficulty for me is I spent two years, disproportionately, in Bayview trying to do one thing: build trust in the community between the Police Department and the city and county of San Francisco and the folks out there who are suffering in unique and challenging conditions.''

Mayor Newsom stated that the incident would be used to launch sweeping reforms to the culture of the Police Department beginning with a Blue Ribbon panel.

In addition to EJS, the Civil Rights Coalition members who attended the meeting included the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, the ACLU-NC, Asian Law Caucus, Chinese for Affirmative Action, Equal Rights Advocates, California Association of Human Relations Organizations, California National Organization for Women, California Women's Agenda, Coalition for Economic Equity, Community United Against Violence, Legal Services for Prisoners With Children and the National Center for Youth Law and Public Advocates.

The rights groups reminded the mayor that there is a lack of real discipline in the department and that reform recommendations have been formulated in the past but never implemented. The civil rights groups requested that the investigations be thorough, serious and that the Blue Ribbon panel will set a high standard for openness, community involvement, and accountability.

"The police videos raised many questions about the delicate balance between being humorous and stereotyping, and racial and sexual harassment. This is especially dangerous when police departments around the country are know to racially profile Black, Latino, Native American and Asian youth," said Rico Oyola, Associate Director of Projects and Programs

As of this writing, the suspended officers have been reinstated although an investigation of the incident continues. There is no word yet of the Blue Ribbon panel. Mayoral spokesman Peter Ragone said that the mayor has selected a chairperson for the panel, but some administrative procedures must be completed before making a formal announcement.

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