SF Activists Rally Against Lurie’s Push to Remove Outspoken Police Commissioner

Community leaders and civil rights activists rallied Monday afternoon at San Francisco City Hall against Mayor Daniel Lurie’s efforts to oust police commissioner Max Carter-Oberstone, a progressive and outspoken supporter of police reform in the city.

It came ahead of a Board of Supervisors hearing on Tuesday on the motion to remove Carter-Oberstone from the commission. Proponents of police accountability are urging supervisors to reject the motion, saying it could jeopardize the critical role and independence of watchdog agencies.

“If the board signs off on this removal, which is being made with no accusation of wrongdoing, no accusation of incompetence, it will set a terrible precedent for not only the independence of the Police Commission but for every independent charter commission in the city,” Carter-Oberstone said.

Carter-Oberstone, who currently serves as vice president of the commission, said he was notified three weeks ago by the mayor’s office that it would be pursuing his formal removal after he rejected Lurie’s request for his resignation. The mayor still hasn’t provided the public with an explanation for why he should be removed, Carter-Oberstone said.

In an email sent to him by Lurie’s chief of staff, Staci Slaughter, which was obtained by KQED, Carter-Oberstone was told that the mayor is looking for a commissioner who is more open to collaboration. Carter-Oberstone’s relationship with former Mayor London Breed, who twice appointed him to the Police Commission, soured after he voted against her pick for the commission’s president and publicly exposed her office’s now-prohibited practice of having commission appointees preemptively sign undated resignation letters.

He was also one of several city officials and commissioners who opposed Breed’s Proposition E, which greatly reduced the Police Commission’s oversight authority over SFPD and expanded the use of surveillance technology and police chases. Voters passed the measure last year.

Carter-Oberstone noted that he has no problems working with the mayor’s office to improve public safety as long as the independence of the commission is maintained.

Angela Chan, an assistant chief at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, said during Monday’s rally that San Francisco needs more commissioners like Carter-Oberstone and urged supervisors to “vote [their] values.

“We need commissioners … who are not afraid to speak truth to power, who are not afraid to whistle blow when he knows something is wrong and unjust,” Chan, who previously served on the Police Commission, said during the rally.

Several nonprofit organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, also spoke up in support of Carter-Oberstone.

“Commissioner Carter-Oberstone has been a persistent, reliable advocate for police accountability and data-driven independent oversight,” said Musa Tariq, a policy coordinator at CAIR. “Under his leadership, he limited abusive pretext traffic stops, exposed corruption and more. His removal would mean the city of San Francisco sanctioning further police misconduct and abuse.”

Tariq said San Francisco voters have consistently pushed for greater police oversight and urged supervisors to allow Carter-Oberstone to follow through on that effort.

KQED’s Elize Manoukian contributed to this report.