December 4
A traffic stop leads to a high-speed pursuit
Seth Rosenfeld
Officer Leslie Adams pursued 20-year-old
Johnie Williams through the Mission District at speeds up
to 70 mph. The chase concluded with Adams fatally wounding Williams.
Story
| Officer, suspect profiles
| Interactive illustration
How SFPD compares with other cities
Seth Rosenfeld
Fatal police shootings are compared with homicides; police experts say this is more meaningful because it considers the level of violence in a community. Read Story
December 3
When officers resort to gunfire
Seth Rosenfeld
As San Francisco police Officer Gregory Breslin told
it, the white Mustang sped straight at him, tires
squealing. He fired and missed the driver, but one of his bullets
killed a 17-year-old passenger, Sheila Detoy.
Story
| Interactive illustration
Experts say critical errors moments before shooting put police, public at risk
Seth Rosenfeld
A Chronicle examination of the Police Department's handling of four
previous shootings, and interviews with independent experts,
suggests the department could improve the safety of police and
public alike if it more fully reported mistakes officers sometimes
make in the moments before they pull the trigger.
Story
| Profiles of four shootings
Boy called police for help — instead, he was accidentally shot
Seth Rosenfeld
December 3, 2006
Boy's dog attacked one of two officers who arrived to help and the other fired at it, accidentally shooting the first officer and the boy.
Story
| Interactive illustration
February 15
SFPD reforms likely to get high priority
Lance Williams
The San Francisco Police Department almost certainly will get the computers it needs to identify problem officers, city officials concerned with law enforcement say. Read Story
February 13
Two heavy users of force end group's night out on the town
Susan Sward, Bill Wallace and Elizabeth Fernandez
The Duthie brothers and their sister Alison were in San Francisco for a night of celebration when they met two of the Police Department's most frequent users of force. Read Story
Tracking makes police accountable, panel told
Rachel Gordon
The head of risk management for the SFPD discusses a planned computerized early-warning system to track officer behavior. Read Story
Police union president takes Newsom to task
Demian Bulwa
The head of the union representing San Francisco police officers said Sunday that Mayor Gavin Newsom showed "a complete and total lack of respect for the rank and file." Read Story
February 12
Mayor demands accountability
Susan Sward
Mayor Gavin Newsom says he will "run roughshod'' over the San Francisco Police Department to create, by the end of the year, a computerized tracking system capable of identifying problem officers. Read Story
February 9
State law protects officers from disclosure of complaints
Susan Sward, Bill Wallace and Elizabeth Fernandez
In California, police disciplinary records and citizen complaints against officers are kept secret by law, in contrast to at least 30 states. Read Story
Morales and Haskell
Susan Sward, Bill Wallace and Elizabeth Fernandez
Officers William Morales and Steven Haskell did not know someone was watching them from a fourth-floor apartment window. Read Story
SFPD brass get tough questions on force data
Charlie Goodyear
San Francisco's Police Commission questioned top police officials Wednesday about why a much-discussed tracking system aimed at early identification of problem officers has yet to be implemented. Read Story
February 8
Few complaints against police upheld - even fewer bring serious discipline
Susan Sward, Bill Wallace and Elizabeth Fernandez
Voters established the Office of Citizen Complaints. They voted to increase the agency's budget. They voted to make the Police Commission more independent of the mayor. Despite all these efforts, the city still rarely holds errant police officers accountable for their actions. Read Story
2 women's claims fall by wayside
Susan Sward
In one three-week period in early 2002, Officer Louis Wong had two angry encounters with female drivers. In the end, Wong escaped all discipline because the police department took no action. Read Story
Differing opinions on scuffle
Bill Wallace and Susan Sward
Teddy Querubin was acting as a chaperone at his son's high school graduation party when he says he tried to defuse a potential fight - only to be beaten by two police officers. Read Story
Wrong man in photo speaks out
Lance Williams
The Chronicle mistakenly identified a San Francisco taxi driver in a photo as a police officer with a record of suspensions for using excessive force. Read Story
February 7
Role models for rookies
Susan Sward and Elizabeth Fernandez
Field training officers must be with their trainees on every shift and file daily and weekly reports on their progress, but the program has a long history of assigning problem officers to be trainers. Read Story
Some move up department ranks despite findings of misconduct
Susan Sward, Bill Wallace and Elizabeth Fernandez
Police practices experts say turning a blind eye to troubling aspects of an officer's record when considering promotion is a serious mistake. Read Story
Wrong man tackled
Susan Sward
Reissner screamed, "Help! Call the police!" Someone in the crowd yelled, "He is the police." The attacker was Henry B. Yee, an SFPD officer. Read Story
SFPD reaction to 'Use of Force' series
Jaxon Van Derbeken
San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong called a press conference Monday to denounce The Chronicle's ongoing series about the department's use of force. Read Story
February 6
Counting without consequence
Susan Sward and Elizabeth Fernandez
The San Francisco Police Department relies on an outmoded system to identify misconduct by its officers, and when the system does find warning signs, they are often ignored.
As a result, officers whose records clearly show a propensity for violence remain on the streets.
San Francisco began monitoring the use of force by officers in 1985, four years after the U.S. Civil Rights Commission called on police agencies to create early warning systems to identify "violence-prone officers." Read Story
Officer's use of force is excused - until a camera documents it
Susan Sward, Bill Wallace and Elizabeth Fernandez
The San Francisco Police Department should have known that Anthony Nelson was one of its most violent officers long before he slammed his baton down on the arm of a war protester and cost the city $835,000. Story | Photos | Video
Tracking force: Key players
A watchdog agency, an admin body and police units. An overview of the people and services that monitor the use of force by officers of the San Francisco Police Department. Read Story
Video: War Protest
Linda Vaccarezza was struck by a police officer's baton and the event was recorded on videotape. Vacarrezza reviews the video and the scene of the incident with Chronicle writer Susan Sward. View Video
How cities compare
Susan Sward, Bill Wallace and Elizabeth Fernandez
In some cities, modern tracking systems were mandated by agreements with the Justice Department. In others, lawsuits filed by private citizens forced the issue. Read Story
Baseball fans say officer used pepper spray even when they followed orders
Bill Wallace and Susan Sward
One after the other, Ralph Canter recalls, his eyelids were lifted up by Sgt. John Fewer, who then shot pepper spray into his eyes. Read Story
February 5
The Use of Force
Susan Sward, Bill Wallace and Elizabeth Fernandez
For years, the San Francisco Police Department has failed to control officers who repeatedly resort to force, hitting, choking, clubbing and pepper-spraying citizens at rates far higher than fellow officers who patrol the same streets. Read Story
Officer John Haggett
Susan Sward, Bill Wallace and Elizabeth Fernandez
The career of John Haggett is a window on a Police Department disciplinary system that time and again misses the opportunity to take problem officers off the streets. Story | Photos | Video
He gives, gets respect
Susan Sward
Joe Garrity, who knows almost every nook and cranny of San Francisco's high-crime Tenderloin district, worked the streets there as a police officer for almost two decades without routinely employing his fists or baton. Read Story
City planned response
Lance Williams
As long ago as September, the mayor's public-relations staff was planning to "launch a preemptive strike" to rebut what police officials believed would be a "critical and hard-hitting" series of articles, city documents show. Read Story
Handcuffed reveler says wild ride in police van cost her 2 teeth
Susan Sward and Elizabeth Fernandez
Officer Chris Olocco drove Gina Balestrieri a few blocks to the Hall of Justice. The ride took about one minute, but according to the lawsuit she filed, it was "a special ride." Read Story
Motorist says run-in with off-duty officer made her flee S.F.
Susan Sward, Bill Wallace and Elizabeth Fernandez
There was nothing to warn Gisela Heinz that things would go very badly when she approached the intersection of 19th and Lincoln avenues. Read Story
