TheAgitator.com
San Francisco Police Chief Proposes Amnesty Plan
Sunday, August 30th, 2009For his own officers, that is.
Discipline cases against dozens of San Francisco police officers would be dismissed under an amnesty program proposed by Chief George Gascón.
The new police chief told The Chronicle on Wednesday that he wants to see “the great majority” of roughly 75 discipline cases pending before the civilian Police Commission end with little or no punishment for officers accused of minor misconduct.
Those cases, he said, include charges such as use of inappropriate language, being discourteous, failing to properly fill out a police report or a first-time misdemeanor drunken-driving arrest. They would also most likely involve first-time offenders rather than officers with a long history of complaints against them.
“We don’t get anything out of taking a pound of flesh,” Gascón said.
According to Bay area DUI defense sites, penalties for a first-time conviction in California can include six to 30 months of alcohol and driving safety classes, suspension of your driver’s license, up to three years of probation, $390-$1,000 in fines, and the possible installation of an ignition interlock device at your expense.
Will Chief Gascón propse non-police residents of San Francisco get a pass on first time offenses too, or just those residents who also happen to be members of law enforcement?
CORRECTION: The amnesty for drunk driving would be with respect to professional disciplinary action, not to possible criminal charges.
One of the most annoying attitudes currently in fashion with LEOs is referring to any non-LEO as “civilians” (I’m looking at you Patterico). Watch any TV reality cop show and you can see this affectation literally dripping off of the men in blue. Hey guys – it used to say “to protect and serve” on your badges.
Don’t be ridiculous. Those benefits accrue purely to the Only Ones.
Will Chief Gascón propse non-police residents of San Francisco get a pass on first time offenses too, or just those residents who also happen to be members of law enforcement?
Not only no, but *%&! NO!
Radley, thanks for getting my LEO culture hating dander up thisd morning.
‘They would also most likely involve first-time offenders rather than officers with a long history of complaints against them.’
with amnesty programs, losing evidence, the ‘brotherhood’ looking out for each other, etc, they’ll all remain ‘first-time offenders’.
Ahh … just like Janet Napolitano(Reno), another Arizona export that we are glad to be rid of …
Well, what I’m wondering is how you become a second-time offender if, thanks to a pre-hearing amnesty program as the one described by Gascón, you’re never found to have a sustained finding on your first offense since it never goes before the board?
To be fair, installing an ignition interlock in a patrol car would never work. They’d just get a suspect to blow into it.
“All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.”
And then cops wonder why no one respects them.
Dugg it! And made the first comment.
Yeah if this actually goes thru (and being San Francisco there is no doubt there), I would like to see all Californians stand up next time something happens to them and say “I would like one of those amnesty plans for me please”. If it is good enough for the police of San Francisco, it is good enough for all the people of California.
What difference will it really make? It seems to me that LEOs are granted amnesty the day they pin the badge on them.
“There’s a very small group of people in the department whose history is irredeemable,” the chief said.
Then why the fuck are they still working there, chief?
These douchebags need their little dicks ripped off and a flashlight shoved up their ass so they can see better.
“Those cases, he said, include charges such as use of inappropriate language, being discourteous, failing to properly fill out a police report or a first-time misdemeanor drunken-driving arrest.”
I really don’t mind reduced punishments for the first 3 out of 4 here. After all, police officers have stressful jobs. But this seems like an excuse to allow cops to drink and drive (beyond the already common non-reporting that Radley covers about 2 or 3 times a day).
More “One rule for me and another for thee”: http://consumerist.com/5347771/mattel-primary-reason-for-toy-safety-law-gets-exempted-from-it
It’s amazing how often the childhood response of “You First!” comes in handy:
Well, Chief, why don’t you get rid of those people first—as a show of good will—then come talk to us about your amnesty plan.
The minute the department administrators enact any type of “amnesty” plan it becomes precedent for future violations. Future offenders will point and say if you let others off the hook you must do the same here.
Not holding officers strictly accountable sends the wrong message to other officers and demoralizes those who toe the ethical line.
From the post:
“We don’t get anything out of taking a pound of flesh,” Gascón said.”
If that’s the case, why are these acts treated as crimes at all? This is why you should never trust any government official who starts talking about forgiveness, or “moving on,” or not dwelling on the past, or the futility of punishment and retribution: it always means that our rulers are trying to get away with something that you or I would be nailed to the wall for.
bendover,
“One of the most annoying attitudes currently in fashion with LEOs is referring to any non-LEO as “civilians”
I sympathize, and I used to feel this way. Police, I reasoned, are civilians just as much as I am, not soldiers, and it’s dangerous to have the police thought of as some sort of military force, lest they start to think of the American people as a subject population to be subdued rather than fellow citizens to be defended. I’ve concluded that I was right on the political philosophy but wrong about the reality on the ground; we ARE a subject population to be subdued, and sadly I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
I would favor a limited amnesty for certain types of abuse cases, most notably those involving practices which are unlawful, but which are routinely ignored for fear of having to indict practically everyone in a department. What I’d offer would be the following deal: in exchange for waiving statute of limitations, an official would be told that provided he never seeks or receives a government position that would give him discretionary authority over anyone, he won’t be prosecuted for explicitly-named actions; if he seeks or accepts such a position, he would be prosecuted for his earlier crimes.
75 minor cases? They should be able to clear these in a less than a month.
How many discipline cases do they have that the investigators can’t keep up? I suspect a serious, underlying problem.
Every time I read some crap like this, all I can think is “hey, I thought The Shield was fictional!”
Oh, wait, I forgot. Some of the cops on The Shield actually got thrown in jail, suspended, and/or lost their jobs. My bad, I guess the show was fictional.
“CORRECTION: The amnesty for drunk driving would be with respect to professional disciplinary action, not to possible criminal charges.”
But since a cop pretty much has to shoot someone in the back in front of half the camera phones in Oakland before THAT happens, the distinction is kind of irrelevant.
There’s always room for compromise. For example, I believe cops who misbehave should be taken out in the parking lot and summarily executed. But, I’m not unreasonable. I could agree to an amnesty program where cops are merely treated like everyone else.
Also, I don’t believe there’s such a thing as a first time offender when it comes to cops. That would be about as likely as someone getting caught the very first time they drive under the influence of alcohol.
Hell Beck has called himself a “rodeo-clown” for a reason. He is in it for the money and the celebrity and doesn’t really care about the truth just the entertainment.
sorry for shitting on this thread.. Too many browser tabs opened :(
“I believe cops who misbehave should be taken out in the parking lot and summarily executed.”
LOL, Dave, thanks.
I’m OK with 60 lashes and firing them and never letting them be cops again, but summary execution still gets the job done. :)
Thank god they are saddled with that puke. Not that Mesa, AZ got a better replacement…they just couldn’t get any worse.
This is really disturbing. I have a very low opinion of 90% of the police and think they are uneducated bullies. Now they should have a free pass to break the law without the consequences they love to impose on everyone else. Mayor Lee better do something about this.