SFPD Pulls Out of Agreement with DA Boudin on Police Shootings

[Nevilledog]

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https://sfstandard.com/public-health-safety/sfpd-pulls-out-of-agreement-with-da-chesa-boudin-on-how-to-investigate-police-shootings/

San Francisco police are pulling out of an agreement with District Attorney Chesa Boudin that made prosecutors the lead investigators of all police shootings in the city.

In a letter Wednesday, Police Chief Bill Scott notified Boudin that his department would be withdrawing from the agreement over allegations that a DA investigator felt pressured to withhold evidence in a case against an officer accused of using excessive force.

Scott’s letter is the latest instance of the chief increasingly distancing himself from Boudin in recent months under mounting pressure from rank-and-file officers, and as the June recall election against the progressive prosecutor approaches. Boudin was noticeably absent from a press conference last week where the chief and Mayor London Breed announced a more than 500% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes.

In his letter, Scott said “very serious concerns” were brought to his attention about last week’s testimony by investigator Magen Hayashi in the case against Officer Terrance Stangel, who is scheduled to stand trial next week for allegedly beating a man with a baton while responding to a domestic violence call at Fisherman’s Wharf in 2019.

Scott accused the District Attorney’s Office of violating the terms of the agreement by withholding evidence from his department.

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