San Francisco Blog

Our neighbor in the South may have helped issue a get out of jail free card for SFPD officers accused of a gamut of offenses ranging from use of unnecessary force killing to making offensive videos.The Chronicle reported Sunday that three state appellate court rulings have sided with Los Angeles police officers who claim their rights were violated when officials failed to tell them the specific penalty they faced for misconduct. The Los Angeles disciplinary system is similar to ours. A high court ruling supporting the findings could jeopardize as many as 30 pending SF cases. A sampling of the cases that may not be assessed for disciplinary action include the 1998 shooting of 17-year-old Sheila Detoy and the "infamous off-duty street brawl over steak fajitas in November 2002." The ruling might also be grounds for overturning discipline meted out in the past. Anthony Nelson, who was fired in 2005 after shattering a war protester's elbow and then filing an inaccurate report about the incident, could potentially sue for compensation or to get his job back. Mark Schlosberg of the ACLU calls the potential outcome of the Los Angeles rulings, "very troubling." What he said. –Andy Wright