Law enforcement:
Advocate for reform, Loftus to join sheriff
Suzy Loftus resigns as police commission president to join sheriff ’s department.
San Francisco Police Commission President Suzy Loftus resigned Tuesday, leaving the oversight board without a powerful voice amid a sustained push for reforms in the police force.
Loftus is joining the San Francisco Sheriff ’s Department as assistant chief legal counsel for the law and policy team, and Sheriff Vicki Hennessy determined the role could create conflicts of interest with the duties of a police commissioner.
Wednesday will be Loftus’ final meeting after almost five years on the seven-member commission, which sets police policy and oversees the discipline of officers. The mayor nominates four members and the Board of Supervisors’ Rules Committee nominates three, with all of the picks subject to board confirmation.
Loftus leaves as the Police Department is under pressure to enact a slate of changes recommended by the U.S.
Department of Justice, and shortly before former Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief William Scott takes over as San Francisco chief.
In the past year, the commission helped lead the charge for reform, reopening the department’s use-of-force policy following the December 2015 shooting of Mario Woods, rolling out body cameras to officers, and helping to select Scott after the May 19 shooting of an unarmed black woman prompted the resignation of Greg Suhr.
“I think through the last two years of an incredibly divisive national conversation, we in San Francisco have leaned into the difficult conversations 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 progress we made.”
Appointed by Mayor Ed Lee in 2012, Loftus was formerly a city prosecutor who went on to work for Sen. Kamala Harris in the state attorney general’s office. As president of the commission since 2014, she earned a reputation for hard work and a belief in collaboration.
In drafting policies for the body cameras and the department general order on use of force, she formed task forces of stakeholders that included the police union, officer interest groups, the public defender’s office, the American Civil Liberties Union and community advocates.
“It’s to her credit, to her leadership, that she has been able to corral all of these diverse voices,” said Julie Traun, an attorney with the San Francisco Bar Association who helped develop the use-of-force policy. “She has an ability to read people and see where everyone is coming from. She knows the path the city needs to be on, and we really got a better policy as a result of sitting at the table.”
Lee released a statement thanking Loftus for her “dedication and leadership.”
Loftus frequently took heat from all sides, with law enforcement watchdogs criticizing her ties to the establishment and officers seeing her push for reform as an attack on their safety. An activist speaking during public comment once told her he wanted to burn off her eyebrows, while the police union singled her out over her stance on the use-of-force policy.
The policy passed in June with the union objecting to two points, a section prohibiting officers from firing at moving vehicles and another prohibiting the carotid restraint neck hold.
After reaching an impasse in negotiations with the union, the commission unanimously passed a version of the policy in December that allowed for officer discretion in extraordinary circumstances.
Before the vote, the union plastered a photo of Loftus’ face at the end of a video ad telling the public to call her about allowing officers to shoot at moving vehicles.
After a city officer shot and wounded a man in the Ocean View neighborhood last week, the union said in a news release that Loftus must “share responsibility” for the shooting because police have been denied Taser stun guns. Loftus responded with a version of a quote from first lady Michelle Obama: “When they go low, I go high.”
Union officials did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
“Contrary to what people may say or believe, she was not on any one side,” said Sheryl Davis, executive director of the city’s Human Rights Commission. “A lot of people do a lot of talking, but she actually did the work. She was fair, and she was truly dedicated to doing what she felt was best and right for the community, and not just for a few.”
Loftus was skilled at building relationships, including with rankand-file officers, said Tenderloin Station Capt. Teresa Ewins.
“I really appreciate anyone who comes to the stations and speak to the cops,” Ewins said. “They work really, really hard, and the fact that they can ask questions of someone on the commission was really big.”
Despite a landmark year of policy changes, Loftus said her proudest moment on the commission was when it passed a department general order in 2014 that sought to minimize the trauma inflicted on children whose parents are arrested.
“I remember looking over at Chief Suhr after it was done,” she said. “Afterwards, he said, ‘This is why we’re here. We’re using our time to make things better.’ ”
She said San Francisco has an opportunity to “really invest in the idea that this is about longterm relationships of trust” between police and the community.
“I think San Francisco and the San Francisco Police Department is really poised to be the example across the country in investing in this approach in the long term,” she said, “so we can change the way this story goes.”
“She was fair, and she was truly dedicated to doing what she felt was best and right for the community, and not just for a few.” Sheryl Davis, San Francisco Human Rights Commission, on outgoing Police Commission President Suzy Loftus