Attorney General, SF Mayor Attempt To Mediate War Of Words Between Police Chief, District Attorney
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Police Chief Bill Scott escalated a war of words with District Attorney Chesa Boudin Monday less than two hours after State Attorney General Rob Bonta and San Francisco Mayor London Breed had issued a joint statement voicing their hopes of mediating the dispute over the investigations of use of deadly force incidents.
Scott had terminated an investigative agreement between his department and the DA's office earlier this month in the wake of revelations that came to light during the trial of Officer Terrance Stangel.
The agreement, or memorandum of understanding, between the agencies went into effect in July 2021 and allows the district attorney's Independent Investigations Bureau to respond to crime scenes and investigate officer-involved shootings, in-custody deaths, and use-of-force cases.
Stangel is being tried on charges of battery, assault with a deadly weapon, assault likely to cause great bodily injury, and assault under color of authority. A DA investigator testified under oath that she felt pressured to mislead police and withhold evidence from a sworn affidavit out of fear of losing her job.
The alleged assault occurred in October 2019 encounter with Dacari Spiers, an unarmed Black man. Stangel and another officer initially responded to a report of a man choking a woman in the city's Fisherman's Wharf area and, once at the scene, a struggle ensued between Spiers and the officers.
During the encounter, Stangel allegedly struck Spiers' legs with a baton several times, resulting in Spiers suffering a broken leg and wrist, as well as lacerations to his leg.
The testimony has broiled over into a heated public debate with an exchange of accusations between Scott and Boudin. Now Scott and Boudin are scheduled to sit down this week to start renegotiating a new agreement to cooperate on use of force investigations.
In the statement from Bonta, Breed and City Attorney David Chiu, the officials said that they were "working together to support the parties to swiftly and collaboratively reach an agreement on the terms of an amended MOU that address the significant issues of compliance, accountability, and mutual expectations."
Scott used the statement to once again level criticism at Boudin, questioning the integrity of the DA's office.
"I'm grateful to Attorney General Bonta, Mayor Breed and City Attorney Chiu for recognizing and responding to the significant issues of compliance that eroded my confidence in the integrity of my agreement with District Attorney Boudin's office," Scott said in his statement.
"I stand strongly for the principles of accountability and transparency, which are foundational to all 21st century police reforms — including those involving uses of force and officer-involved shootings," the statement continued. "But accountability and transparency must be mutually honored by both parties in agreements such as these. I am hopeful that rigorous protections can be put in place to restore and then guarantee the 'two-way street' moving forward, which according to the sworn court testimony of an SFDA investigator that office systematically abandoned."
Boudin denies violating the agreement. Rachel Marshall, a spokesperson for Boudin's office, said the agreement has room for improvement and that the DA's office remains committed to prosecuting unlawful use of force.
"We are hopeful that we will be able to reach an agreement that preserves our ability to conduct independent investigations of police use of force," she said.
