In the wake of horrifying police scandals in Los Angeles, New York, and elsewhere, experts have repeatedly pointed to San Francisco's Office of Citizen Complaints as a model for civilian review of law enforcement. But while San Francisco is indeed a step ahead of cities where citizen oversight of the police is effectively nonexistent, a crucial gap remains. The OCC remains utterly dependent on the SFPD and the Police Commission. SFPD noncooperation can effectively stall investigations, and while the OCC can recommend that the department discipline individual officers or change its policies, it is up to the department or the Police Commission to carry out those actions. Often OCC recommendations seem to disappear into a black hole.
Complainants can end up frustrated and angry.
Detoy, an unarmed passenger in a vehicle driven by Michael Negron, was killed as officers attempted to apprehend Negron. The OCC's investigation remains 60 to 90 days from completion, held up largely because the agency can't get the reports it needs from SFPD's homicide division, Dunlap says. They're just not providing us with records. We have had a war with homicide over getting records to which we're legally entitled. Gregory Breslin, the officer who fired the fatal shots, was promoted to sergeant in March.