“San Francisco’s Department of Elections and its employees have been doing an exemplary job,” Herrera said. “I’m equally confident that our co-defendants are also meeting or exceeding their legal duties.”

Statement from City Attorney Dennis Herrera on California Supreme Court decision in police text message case

by
The San Francisco Police Commission can move forward with disciplinary action against the police officers

“San Francisco’s Department of Elections and its employees have been doing an exemplary job,” Herrera said. “I’m equally confident that our co-defendants are also meeting or exceeding their legal duties.”SAN FRANCISCO (Sept. 12, 2018) — City Attorney Dennis Herrera issued the following statement after the California Supreme Court today denied review in the case involving racist, homophobic and otherwise abhorrent text messages sent by certain San Francisco Police Department officers: 

“The court made the right decision. Police should not have to compromise a criminal case in order to discipline officers accused of appalling behavior, like these text messages revealing prejudice against the very communities our officers are sworn to protect. Both the California Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal recognized what the law says: SFPD can and should investigate and prosecute corrupt officers before moving on to police misconduct revealed during the investigation. Officers accused of misconduct don’t get a free pass just because their texts came to light during a corruption investigation. That is not what the law says, and it would make no sense. Now these officers can answer to the Police Commission.”

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/.

# # #