Jeff Godown, Police Chief, "Troubled and Kind of Perplexed" by Latest Police Misconduct Allegations

Dazed and confused

​Yesterday SF Weekly told readers about the latest allegations over police misconduct, where a San Francisco judge dismissed a drug case after more video footage of cops allegedly busting into an apartment in an illegal drug search. Needless to say, Chief Jeff Godown woke up feeling a little confused by all of this.

At a press conference this morning, the chief talked to reporters about the Richmond District drug case, which involves three cops who allegedly entered the apartment of Wenzell McLaren, a medical marijuana card holder, without permission. But Godown said he saw nothing on the video that makes him think the officers did anything wrong.

Public Defender Jeff Adachi yesterday told the media that this latest dismissed case is proof that this type of lawlessness is widespread in the SFPD.

"He continues to paint the Police Department with a wide brush" and "screams the sky is falling," Godown was quoted saying in the SF Appeal. "I'm not going to sit back and let people bad mouth this department, and put out allegations of misconduct when they're not true." Both Godown and District Attorney George Gascón said they disagreed with the judge's decision, adding that police will continue to pursue the charges and run business as usual.

The case started when Officer Michael Chang, Sergeant Gary Watts, and Officer Martinez responded to a report of a marijuana scent within the private apartment complex at the corner of 33rd Avenue and Geary Boulevard.

Without a search warrant or permission, the officers drove into the parking garage of the apartment complex -- they followed a resident who had opened the garage door, according to Robert Amparan, a private attorney defending McLaren.

Amparan said the surveillance footage he got from the apartment building shows the officers walking door-to-door, sniffing for pot.

They ran into McLaren in the hallway, and claimed they smelled burnt marijuana, according to Amparan. They talked to him for nine minutes, trying to get permission to search his room, but he refused.

He did, however, go back into his room to gather his doctor's recommendation for medical marijuana (but no license), and a glass jar filled with pot.

The officers followed him into the room, and two witnesses who were in the room saw Sergeant Watts draw his gun. After searching the room, the officers found 410 grams of pot, and demanded to know: "Where's the money?"

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