Justice Dept. to announce review of San Francisco’s police department

The U.S. Department of Justice is beginning a review of the San Francisco Police Department, which recently came under fire for the shooting of a young black man and for a separate incident in which officers sent homophobic and racist text messages.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Brian Stretch and Ronald Davis, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Director, will hold a news conference in San Francisco on Monday afternoon, according to the statement, which gave no details about the nature or reason for the investigation.

Days before the federal government announced a probe of the San Francisco Police in the shooting death of Mario Woods, the department’s officers took a pledge to stamp out racism and intolerance. Yulanda Williams, who heads a minority police officers group, helped to start the pledge when she uncovered a white co-worker used a black slur in texts to other San Francisco police officers protesting about Williams’ promotion to sergeant.

Police Chief Greg Suhr and Mayor Ed Lee reportedly called for the DOJ to investigate following the Woods shooting, Associated Press reported. Officers shot Woods after he moved towards an officer on the sidewalk, the police department said in a statement. Video of the encounter shows officers confronting Woods after the young man was suspected of stabbing another man in the left bicep.

Protesters claim the San Francisco mayor is more interested in accommodating the National Football League for the Super Bowl in the city than repairing the wounds between the officers and communities after the Woods shooting. Politically progressive San Francisco is not immune from the unrest.

Attorney John Burris, who represents Woods’ family, said late Sunday that he strongly supports the Department of Justice review.

San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors recognized the pain and grief of Woods’ family and their supporters on Wednesday by issuing a day of remembrance on Woods’ birthday, July 22. The Department of Justice (DOJ) agency is “responsible for advancing the practice of community policing”.

The department has also launched the website http://notonmywatchsfpd.org/ which instructs citizens and officers on how to file complaints against the police.

The announcement of a federal review comes amid increased attention on how police officers use force, particularly lethal force, across the country.

In December, a judge also ruled that officers who exchanged racist and homophobic text messages would be allowed to keep their jobs because the Police Department had waited too long to address the misconduct.

The Obama administration opened such civil rights probes in cities including Chicago, Cleveland and Ferguson, Mo., in many cases finding patterns of excessive force and racial bias.