Court orders appeal step for S.F. police in discipline cases

San Francisco is violating the rights of police officers accused of misconduct by failing to give them a hearing to appeal the city Police Commission’s decision to suspend or fire them, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The First District Court of Appeal said San Francisco must change its procedures and allow police to appeal disciplinary action to city officials before going to court. The panel’s ruling upholds a judge’s decision to reinstate a fired officer.

California requires a local government employer that has decided to punish an officer to provide “an opportunity for the officer to convince the employer to reverse that decision,” Justice Jon Streeter said in the 3-0 decision.

That law, commonly known as the Peace Officers’ Bill of Rights, was sponsored by police groups in 1978 to provide protections for officers facing discipline.

The court did not say which city officials or agency should hold the additional hearing, or whether the ruling would apply retroactively to officers who have been disciplined under the

current procedures.

Gregg Adam, a lawyer for the San Francisco Police Officers Association, said most cities already provide the hearing, but San Francisco and Los Angeles rely on their city charters to limit appeal rights.

“The charter system doesn’t comply with state law,” Adam said.

John Coté, spokesman for City Attorney Dennis Herrera, indicated the city would comply with the ruling.

“San Francisco for decades has had a fair process in place for police officer discipline,” Coté said in a statement. “In this case, the court has ruled that we need to provide an administrative appeal to this officer. We’re going to look at the options to provide that appeal.”

The case involved Officer Paulo Morgado, accused of misconduct by a private citizen in a 2008 filing with the city’s Office of Citizen Complaints. The police chief filed a formal disciplinary complaint a year later and, after hearings, the Police Commission ordered Morgado dismissed in 2011 after finding he had used unnecessary force, made an unlawful arrest and committed other wrongful acts.

Morgado sued and won a ruling from Superior Court Judge James Robertson in February 2014 ordering his reinstatement.

In appealing Robertson’s ruling, lawyers for the city argued that charter cities like San Francisco are entitled to a wide degree of autonomy in managing their government.

But Streeter, in Wednesday’s ruling, said the state Supreme Court has ruled that the policerights law “addresses a matter of statewide concern” and is binding on all local governments.