FILE NO. 160028 1 AMENDED IN BOARD 1/26/16 RESOLUTION NO. [Urging an Independent Federal Investigation of the Shooting of Mario Woods] 2 3 Resolution calling for an independent federal investigation of the shooting of Mario 4 Woods by the San Francisco Police Department on December 2, 2015. 5 WHEREAS, On December 2, 2015, five San Francisco Police Officers shot and killed 6 7 Mario Woods during an encounter in the Bayview neighborhood; and WHEREAS, Video footage of the shooting has shocked the community and raised 8 9 10 serious questions about the actions of the officers involved, as well as SFPD’s training and use of force protocols and its treatment of African Americans; and WHEREAS, The San Francisco Police Department, District Attorney’s office, and Office 11 12 of Citizen Complaints are actively investigating the Woods shooting; and WHEREAS, As a San Francisco Chronicle editorial said in December: “What would 13 14 help rebuild community trust in the department is an outside independent investigation — 15 preferably from an institution with unimpeachable integrity and the authority to look at the big 16 picture of whether the department has deep-seated problems with misconduct,” adding the 17 investigation requires “a rigor and independence that will lend it credibility;” and WHEREAS, The Task Force on 21st Century Policing commissioned by President 18 19 Barack Obama in 2015 recommends as one of six pillars of best practices that police 20 departments should proactively request independent investigations of police-involved 21 incidents of serious injury or death in order to improve transparency and community relations; 22 and 23 24 WHEREAS, The United States Department of Justice investigated the October 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald by the Chicago Police, and following requests from Illinois 25 Supervisors Breed; Cohen, Campos, Avalos, Mar BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 1 1 officials, has undertaken a broader investigation of whether the patterns and practices of the 2 Chicago Police Department violate the civil rights of residents; and 3 WHEREAS, A Washington Post analysis found at least 385 fatal police shootings 4 nationwide, including 100 African American men, during the first five months of 2015 alone, 5 and quoted Jim Bueermann, a former police chief and president of the Washington-based 6 Police Foundation, as saying police shootings “are grossly under-reported;” and 7 WHEREAS, The Board of Supervisors, like the communities it represents, is gravely 8 concerned not only about the shooting of Mario Woods but about police training and use of 9 force practices, particularly against young men of color; and 10 11 12 WHEREAS, City and Police Department policies and practices should not just meet constitutional standards but exceed them; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors requests the United States Department of 13 Justice to undertake an independent investigation of the shooting of Mario Woods on 14 December 2, 2015, and of the broader issue of use of force practices by the San Francisco 15 Police Department. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Supervisors Breed; Cohen, Campos, Avalos, Mar BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 2