San Francisco Police Commission Begins Interviews for Next SFPD Chief at a Pivotal Time

The San Francisco Police Commission will begin interviews for the city’s next chief of police on Tuesday morning, kicking off a process that will lead to a critical choice for Mayor Daniel Lurie.

The position has been vacant since May, when former chief Bill Scott announced his departure after eight years in the role.

The city’s seven-member Police Commission, a group of volunteers appointed by the mayor and Board of Supervisors, will enter into a closed session on Tuesday morning to interview candidates over the next one to two weeks.

“We have a self-imposed deadline of Nov. 12 to present the finalists to Lurie,” commission Vice President Kevin Benedicto told KQED.

Ultimately, the mayor will select the next chief from three commission-selected candidates. Who Lurie picks could define his time as mayor.

Lurie’s chief of public safety, Paul Yep, has served as interim chief in the months since Scott’s departure. Despite speculation that he was auditioning to take on the permanent role, Yep did not apply.

There were 34 applicants for the job; only Steven Ford, who served at the SFPD for 31 years and briefly led the Antioch Police Department, publicly stated that he applied.

Lurie currently has two appointees on the Police Commission. Former federal prosecutor Wilson Leung filled a vacant seat at the beginning of Lurie’s term. And Lurie selected anti-violence activist Mattie Scott to serve after removing progressive police commissioner Max Carter-Oberstone. (The mayor appoints four members to the commission; the Board of Supervisors selects three.)

While reported crime is low in San Francisco — Lurie recently stated crime is down 30% citywide compared to last year — the new chief will inherit an understaffed police force, calls for more community policing and millions in overtime spending. Low-level crimes and open-air drug use are a persistent problem.

Community meetings organized between August and September by Ralph Andersen & Associates, the agency leading the search for candidates, gathered responses from 227 people about what they were looking for in the role. The report, presented to the Police Commission at their Oct. 8 meeting, found that respondents were looking for a police chief “who embodies integrity, openness, and courage, while also being firmly grounded in the unique needs of San Francisco.”

Benedicto said the community meetings, along with conversations with police officers and other department employees, have already shaped some of the commission’s decision-making and will continue to help them winnow down the candidates.

According to community input, one of the chief’s key priorities should be “preparedness around federal immigration enforcement activity.” Protesters have faced off against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers outside San Francisco’s immigration court. In cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee, similar protests have been used by the Trump administration as a rationale for sending in the National Guard.

Trump has suggested sending troops to San Francisco and Oakland, a plan Lurie has refrained from commenting on. “We have work to do, there is no doubt about that,” he said at the Italian Heritage Festival on Sunday. “We need more SFPD.”

Whoever Lurie picks for the job will face a host of challenges — just as Scott did eight years ago. The former chief was appointed by then-Mayor Ed Lee in 2016 after two years of high-profile police shootings and calls for accountability. Scott’s mandate from Lee was to transform the SFPD into a “21st-century police force.”

Just this January, the SFPD announced it had completed an eight-year reform process with the Department of Justice. During Scott’s time as chief, the department implemented more than 270 recommended reforms.

His tenure was also marked by the pandemic, an increase in fentanyl overdoses, and a rise in car break-ins and property crime. Dissatisfaction with policing led in part to the 2022 recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin, which in turn hampered former Mayor London Breed’s bid for reelection.

Lurie’s choice could similarly make or break his burgeoning political career. The city hopes to have the position filled by the end of this year.