04-24-2009, 03:15 PM
Potential SF Chief Candidate Demoted
From The San Francisco Chronicle, April 14
[quote]
SAN FRANCICSCO – Police Chief Heather Fong has demoted a veteran member of her command staff to captain amid allegations that he violated a policy that requires law enforcement officers to report cases of domestic violence, authorities say.
Greg Suhr, a 28-year veteran, confirmed Monday that he was stripped of his command rank of deputy chief - which he has had since 2002 - and reduced to the civil service rank of captain. He would not discuss any reason he was given for the action.
"I was told I am demoted to captain and it was a personnel matter," said Suhr, who added that the action took effect on Friday.
Suhr, 50, said he will retain his position in charge of securing the city's water supply under assignment to the Public Utilities Commission.
San Francisco police spokesman Sgt. Wilfred Williams declined to comment on Monday, saying it involved a possible ongoing personnel matter.
As a result of the action, Suhr's salary will drop from about $250,000 a year to about $175,000 annually.
Suhr had been mentioned as a candidate to replace Fong, who has said she will leave her post this year.
The department is conducting an internal investigation into the matter, which, according to sources close to the probe, began in February after Suhr learned of the alleged domestic violence incident.
Suhr knew a woman who told him that she had been the victim of domestic violence. It was a Friday when he urged her to report the incident but she refused, telling him she needed time to consider the matter, sources said.
Under state law, police are mandated to report any incidents of domestic violence.
The following Monday, Suhr accompanied the woman to a police station in San Francisco where she reported the incident, sources said.
The woman's alleged attacker, Mark Roppo of San Francisco, was eventually charged with two attempted murder charges, assault with a deadly weapon and making criminal threats. The woman suffered a broken shoulder in the incident.
"We know she (the victim) is a friend of Suhr's," said Michael Cardoza, who represents Roppo in the case. He said, however, he did not know anything about whether the woman had confided in Suhr before the charges were lodged.
"It's serious," Cardoza said of the allegations against Roppo. "But I have seen much, much worse where attempted murder isn't charged. It's tremendously over-charged - that I don't understand at all."
This is not the first time Fong and Suhr have clashed. In 2005, Fong abruptly reassigned Suhr from his position as head of patrol, but he retained his deputy chief rank.
At the time, Fong said her decision was unrelated to Suhr's handling of an anarchist protest in which a Mission police officer suffered a fractured skull at the hands of a masked group of G-8 summit protesters.
However, Suhr's handling of the incident drew fire after records showed that he had sent many of the tactical officers assigned to the protest back to a police station while he assessed the situation. Fong had said she was investigating the way the protest was handled but never made public any findings.
"This is an obvious move by the chief of police to do everything she can to remove Greg Suhr out of consideration for the chief's job," said Gary Delagnes, head of the Police Officers Association, a Suhr supporter.
"It's a cheap shot. It's beyond low."
From The San Francisco Chronicle, April 14
[quote]
SAN FRANCICSCO – Police Chief Heather Fong has demoted a veteran member of her command staff to captain amid allegations that he violated a policy that requires law enforcement officers to report cases of domestic violence, authorities say.
Greg Suhr, a 28-year veteran, confirmed Monday that he was stripped of his command rank of deputy chief - which he has had since 2002 - and reduced to the civil service rank of captain. He would not discuss any reason he was given for the action.
"I was told I am demoted to captain and it was a personnel matter," said Suhr, who added that the action took effect on Friday.
Suhr, 50, said he will retain his position in charge of securing the city's water supply under assignment to the Public Utilities Commission.
San Francisco police spokesman Sgt. Wilfred Williams declined to comment on Monday, saying it involved a possible ongoing personnel matter.
As a result of the action, Suhr's salary will drop from about $250,000 a year to about $175,000 annually.
Suhr had been mentioned as a candidate to replace Fong, who has said she will leave her post this year.
The department is conducting an internal investigation into the matter, which, according to sources close to the probe, began in February after Suhr learned of the alleged domestic violence incident.
Suhr knew a woman who told him that she had been the victim of domestic violence. It was a Friday when he urged her to report the incident but she refused, telling him she needed time to consider the matter, sources said.
Under state law, police are mandated to report any incidents of domestic violence.
The following Monday, Suhr accompanied the woman to a police station in San Francisco where she reported the incident, sources said.
The woman's alleged attacker, Mark Roppo of San Francisco, was eventually charged with two attempted murder charges, assault with a deadly weapon and making criminal threats. The woman suffered a broken shoulder in the incident.
"We know she (the victim) is a friend of Suhr's," said Michael Cardoza, who represents Roppo in the case. He said, however, he did not know anything about whether the woman had confided in Suhr before the charges were lodged.
"It's serious," Cardoza said of the allegations against Roppo. "But I have seen much, much worse where attempted murder isn't charged. It's tremendously over-charged - that I don't understand at all."
This is not the first time Fong and Suhr have clashed. In 2005, Fong abruptly reassigned Suhr from his position as head of patrol, but he retained his deputy chief rank.
At the time, Fong said her decision was unrelated to Suhr's handling of an anarchist protest in which a Mission police officer suffered a fractured skull at the hands of a masked group of G-8 summit protesters.
However, Suhr's handling of the incident drew fire after records showed that he had sent many of the tactical officers assigned to the protest back to a police station while he assessed the situation. Fong had said she was investigating the way the protest was handled but never made public any findings.
"This is an obvious move by the chief of police to do everything she can to remove Greg Suhr out of consideration for the chief's job," said Gary Delagnes, head of the Police Officers Association, a Suhr supporter.
"It's a cheap shot. It's beyond low."