SFPD freed from state oversight after completing recommended reforms

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The California Department of Justice says the San Francisco Police Department is no longer under state oversight.

"It feels really good, feeling. It feels great honestly," said SFPD Chief Bill Scott.

Chief Scott has been with the department for nearly eight years. He has worked with four mayors.

Chief Scott was brought in by Mayor Ed Lee back in 2017 to help reform the police department - a department facing a series of troubling fatal police shootings.

That included the 2015 fatal police shooting of Mario Woods in the city's Bayview District.

"Over half of my 35 years has been spent doing this type of work. My fire department, lap was under a consent decree. So, I came up in policing understanding reform, the need to do it, and why it's important," said Chief Scott.

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On Tuesday, the California Department of Justice says the department has reached 264 of its 272 recommended reforms. Those reforms include reducing its overall use of force, driving down police shootings, and implementing new policies to deal with racial bias in policing.

Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement:

"This report marks an important milestone in SFPD's years-long effort to increase public trust by improving its policing practices, transparency, and accountability. As we close this chapter, I am optimistic that SFPD will build on these reforms to continue to reduce racial disparities in stops, searches, and the use of force by SFPD officers."

"I was brought here to lead this reform. And it's a major accomplishment for this department and the city. Not every department is successful," said Chief Scott.

ABC7 News asked him how he managed to accomplish that.

"I'm really proud of our members. Again, all our collaborative efforts with nonprofits and people from advocacy groups, and community members that sat on policy working groups," said Chief Scott. "For us to take this on, we did it voluntarily. We didn't give up in 2017."

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Professor David Ball is with Santa Clara University School of Law.

"It's good news. We want to encourage police departments to be more accountable and more aligned with what the public wants - what the values of the state are. In California, we are very concerned about use of force and issues of disparities," said professor Ball.

Ball says the hard work must continue.

"This is not something where you can stop thinking about race or you can stop thinking about use of force just because you met the DOJ's requirement. It just means the DOJ is not going to be holding your feet to the fire," said Ball.

San Francisco isn't the only police department that has faced scrutiny by the Department of Justice.

Antioch Police Department has agreed to federal oversight. Vallejo PD faces court oversight by the AG's office. And Oakland PD remains under federal oversight.