“The court forcefully affirmed San Francisco’s interest in protecting public health, and repeatedly emphasized the likelihood that the sugary soda lobby’s case would fall flat,” City Attorney Dennis Herrera said.

Statement from City Attorney Dennis Herrera on ruling in SFPD text message case

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Appellate court rules for the City, allows officer discipline to proceed

“The court forcefully affirmed San Francisco’s interest in protecting public health, and repeatedly emphasized the likelihood that the sugary soda lobby’s case would fall flat,” City Attorney Dennis Herrera said.SAN FRANCISCO (May 30, 2018) — City Attorney Dennis Herrera issued the following statement on the First District Court of Appeal’s ruling in the case involving racist, homophobic and otherwise abhorrent text messages sent by certain San Francisco Police Department officers:

“We’re very pleased the court found that police officials do not have to compromise a criminal investigation in order to pursue discipline against officers accused of abhorrent behavior. Forcing public officials to choose between the two would have made a mockery of justice.

This ruling upholds police departments’ ability to coordinate with federal investigators to expose dirty cops and protect the public.

The court also recognized how damaging these text messages were, noting:

‘There is no doubt that the public’s interest in the integrity of SFPD was undermined by the offensive text messages. The attitudes reflected in these messages displayed unacceptable prejudice against members of the communities SFPD is sworn to protect.’

It is high time to proceed with a full and fair disciplinary process for the officers in question.”

The case is: Rain O. Daugherty v. City and County of San Francisco et al., San Francisco Superior Court Case No. CPF-15-514302.  Additional documentation on the case is available on the San Francisco City Attorney’s office’s website at: httpss://www.sfcityattorney.org/.

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