SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC DEFENDER
MANOHAR RAJU – PUBLIC DEFENDER
MATT GONZALEZ – CHIEF ATTORNEY

March 11, 2020
Chief of Police William Scott
San Francisco Police Department
1245 Third Street, Sixth Floor
San Francisco, CA 94518

Re: SFPD response to COVID-19
Dear Chief Scott,
In the interest of protecting the health and wellbeing of all San Franciscans, I am
pursuing all possible avenues to reduce possible Corona Virus exposure for my office’s
current and future clients. We are working to ensure that detained persons are not
inadvertently being exposed to a life-threatening illness during their detention and are
requesting that you exercise your authority to reduce exposure at the points of citation,
arrest and pretrial incarceration.
As we all follow recommendations to avoid congregating and preserving more personal
distance than usual, we must be especially mindful to reduce criminal legal system contact
to the greatest extent possible, while also upholding the duty to protect public safety. I am
therefore asking that you exercise your discretion and instruct all officers under your
command to reduce all unnecessary contact with the community by ceasing to cite people
for violations of municipal infractions, ceasing citations and arrests for low level
misdemeanors that do not pose a public safety risk, and to suspend all additional arrests,
unless there is a clear and present danger of imminent physical harm. This should include
all misdemeanor offenses and all non-violent felonies.
By way of example, please see the attached document by the Washington Association of
Sheriffs & Police Chiefs with particular focus on the following language on the third page:
1. Downsizing
...
b. Are there alternatives to arrest for certain crimes, or, in dire situations,
are there crimes for which your patrol division will not arrest?
I am further requesting that you provide me—and the public—with the specific plans
and protocols you have in place to avoid COVID-19 coronavirus being transmitted in all
spaces under your control, like police vehicles and police station holding areas, and by
items like handcuffs that are reused on multiple persons.
Adult Division - HOJ
555 Seventh Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
P: 415.553.1671
F: 415.553.9810
www.sfpublicdefender.org

Juvenile Division - YGC
375 Woodside Avenue, Rm. 118
San Francisco, CA 94127
P: 415.753.7601
F: 415.566.3030

Juvenile Division - JJC
258A Laguna Honda Blvd.
San Francisco, CA 94116
P: 415.753.8174
F: 415.753.8175

Clean Slate
P: 415.553.9337
www.sfpublicdefender.org/services

Bayview Magic
P: 415.558.2428
www.bayviewmagic.org

Community Justice Center
P: 415.202.2832
F: 415.563.8506

MoMagic
P: 415.567.0400
www.momagic.org

 Adopting and publicly releasing these policies will address and balance the concerns of
our office, our clients and their communities, and the general public.
Sincerely,

Mano Raju
Public Defender
cc:

Mayor London Breed
District Attorney Chesa Boudin
DPH Director Dr. Grant Colfax
Sheriff Paul Miyamoto