San Francisco's next police chief should be someone of often contradictory talents, according to local residents who presented their wish lists to police commissioners at a series of meetings.
The city's next top cop needs to be someone who is tough on crime, but not all crimes; an insider who knows the department and the city while having an outsider's fresh take on local problems; and an administrator who will put more cops on the street, but not have too many of them hanging around the city's nightclubs and street fairs.
Finally, residents unhappy that former Chief George Gascón jumped to the district attorney's job after only 17 months in office want someone who will commit to staying in the job, even though city politics could send the new chief packing after nine months.
"Not everyone agrees on what we need in a new chief," police Commissioner James Slaughter admitted after a two-hour public meeting last week at the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center. "But what we have heard is that people want a chief who will respect San Francisco values."
Narrowing choices to 3
Besides the event in the Castro, commissioners also held meetings in the Sunset and Bayview districts, asking residents for questions they want answered by the candidates to replace Gascón. The commission will present Mayor Ed Lee with three candidates for the job by mid-March.
"It's very rare that civilians, your neighbors, help to pick a police chief," Commissioner Jim Hammer said Thursday. "There's nothing more important that we'll do."
More than 100 people, representing the diversity of the city, turned out for the three meetings. Their concerns covered the breadth of life in San Francisco.
"We want to see nighttime (police) staff to deal with the nightlife community," Terrance Alan, a former member of the city's Entertainment Commission, said at the Bayview meeting. "We want someone who will see nightlife as more than just a crowd control problem."
Community policing
Several people talked about the importance of the community policing effort, which gets officers out of squad cars and onto the street to meet with residents.
"We want someone who will come and talk to us, someone who will keep a positive attitude and just start a conversation," said Nickie Hatfield, a Bernal Heights teenager.
The new chief has to set a tone that extends to the whole department, added Leah Weitz of the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center.
"I'm looking for a chief who can train officers to step out of the door with a lot of integrity and who will know they're part of the community," she said.
Anyone taking charge of the department has to be ready for its diversity, including the 200 or so gay, lesbian and transgender officers, said Inspector Kevin Jones, a department veteran.
