presentation (opens in new tab)<\/a> mirrored many of Lee\u2019s recommendations, with some meaningful exceptions. For instance, there was no mention of the department shifting toward suspect-centered investigations.<\/p>\nToomey, who presented for the SFPD, said that by the end of this year, SVU investigators will have to complete a standardized checklist documenting the steps taken and remaining leads before moving a sexual assault case to \u201cinactive.\u201d Supervisors will review the checklists. Also by year\u2019s end, supervisors will begin monthly reviews of cases, according to Toomey.<\/p>\n
The victims\u2019 rights office had laid out specific steps, including interviewing suspects, canvassing for video and witnesses, and reviewing suspects\u2019 social media and criminal records.<\/p>\n
\u2018A different definition of probable cause\u2019<\/p>\n
Much of the hearing turned on the standard that police use to move a rape case forward to the district attorney\u2019s office for possible charges.<\/p>\n
Lee, a civil rights attorney, explained how police should make arrests and present cases to prosecutors once they have probable cause. Under state law, she said, a credible victim account of nonconsent meets that bar.<\/p>\n
When asked about a hypothetical situation of a victim who reports a sexual assault, Lee said, \u201cIt should not be held to that highest standard, which is \u2018beyond a reasonable doubt,\u2019 before it\u2019s presented to the DA.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRespectfully, we fundamentally disagree that these are cases that should be inactive. Because the survivor has said that they did not give consent. Her account is credible. These are cases that should proceed to the next step,\u201d said Lee.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Several supervisors raised the case at the center of The Standard\u2019s July report, in which a victim gave a statement, and a rape kit produced a DNA match, but no arrest was made.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not here to say that in every single case we have gotten this right,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
On the 14% clearance rate The Standard reported, Jones said, \u201cWe\u2019re endeavoring to not be at 14% again and to only be on the rise.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked why cases with victim testimony and a known suspect were made inactive, Toomey said, \u201c\u200aSpeaking as a whole, it\u2019d be difficult to say that there\u2019s a particular back pattern to this that continues with cases like this. But the knowledge of who the suspect is, is obviously a very compelling piece of evidence to determine the crimes he may have committed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mahmood asked Toomey repeatedly why the SFPD makes so few arrests in these cases, especially when a victim has identified a suspect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo are you saying then that the survivor\u2019s account is not probable cause?\u201d Mahmood asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn and of itself, we would have to review to ensure that it\u2019s correct, that that information is correct,\u201d Toomey said.<\/p>\n
Asked whether a suspect\u2019s claim that sex was consensual ends an investigation, Toomey said, \u201cAbsolutely not.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re not here to say that in every single case we have gotten this right,\u201d said Assistant Chief Nicole Jones, standing beside Toomey at the hearing. | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades\/The Standard<\/p>\n
However, that contradicts the SFPD\u2019s most recent public report on the status of sexual assault cases. The department is required to report the status of cases in which the victim endured a rape exam at San Francisco General Hospital. Of 170 cases in which rape kits were administered from January to July, 132 are listed as inactive. One listed reason: \u201cKnown Suspect\/Victim cooperative. Suspect thought the sex was consensual and there is no other corroborating evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aWe might have a different definition of probable cause here, it seems,\u201d said Mahmood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Who reviews the cases<\/p>\n
In place of an independent review, the SFPD proposed a \u201crecurring review\u201d of aggregate case outcomes by the SVU, other police units, the district attorney\u2019s office, and \u201cappropriate law enforcement partners,\u201d to begin by June 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also recognize the value of bringing qualified advocates and other experts from outside law enforcement into this process,\u201d Toomey said.<\/p>\n
Under the proposal from the victims\u2019 rights office, modeled on a practice it attributed to Philadelphia, advocates would review cases at police headquarters under nondisclosure agreements.<\/p>\n
Lee called the annual model \u201cquality control\u201d \u2014\u00a0a way to \u201cidentify problems and solve them as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lee said she doesn\u2019t see why the SFPD would not be able to conduct an independent audit of sexual assault cases using the model in place at police departments in New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aA hundred percent there\u2019s a way to do this,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Women\u2019s Law Project, which has run Philadelphia\u2019s advocate review for 26 years, submitted testimony urging San Francisco to adopt the model and offering to help build it.<\/p>\n
Fielder asked whether any officers had been internally investigated over their handling of sexual assault cases. Jones said she didn\u2019t know, because such complaints go to the Department of Police Accountability.<\/p>\n
The Standard reported in July that more than 50 complaints about the SFPD\u2019s handling of sexual assault cases had been filed with the DPA over four years. The agency sustained only one of these complaints, after an officer admitted in 2023 that he had responded to a 911 call about a sexual assault by telling the victim, \u201cWe don\u2019t have time for this fucking bullshit again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Separately, SFPD Internal Affairs has opened investigations into three officers over sexual assault allegations in the past year, according to reports to the Police Commission. All three cases remain open.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next<\/p>\n
Melgar said she is drafting a resolution outlining the changes the SFPD agreed upon at Thursday\u2019s hearing. She plans to introduce it Oct. 27. It will be voted on by the Board of Supervisors in November and, if passed, sent to the Police Commission by December. Unlike the board, the commission has authority to set SFPD policy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Police Commission has an important role in setting policy for this department, and we welcome that oversight,\u201d Lew said.<\/p>\n
After the hearing, Lee told The Standard she believes the SFPD\u2019s new leadership is committed to reforms \u201cthat will fundamentally change the way that these investigations operate.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it will take continued pressure. \u201cI think when the mayor is clear about his support for these recommendations, that they will be done,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Mayor Daniel Lurie met with Lee last week for the first time since taking office, according to The Standard\u2019s review of the mayor\u2019s calendar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lurie did not respond to requests for comment from The Standard about whether he supports the recommendations or would press the SFPD to adopt them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"San Francisco police leaders have committed to changing the way sexual assault and rape investigations are handled following…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":490047,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[6702,4749,15636,101,103,102,15836,2531,104,106,105,37511,4736],"class_list":["post-490046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-board-of-supervisors","tag-domestic-violence","tag-police-reform","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sexual-abuse","tag-sexual-assault","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-sf-reality-check","tag-sfpd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/490047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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Supervisor Myrna Melgar opened the proceedings by citing The Standard\u2019s July report, which found that police systematically failed to investigate sexual assault cases. | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades\/The Standard<\/p>\n