A former officer who was rehired by the San Francisco Police Department to conduct background investigations on new recruits has been fired following two stories by The Standard highlighting troubling incidents in his own background.
Richard Van Koll — who was involved in a physical altercation with former employees who are suing him for alleged unfair labor practices — retired from the SFPD in 2013, then worked for seven years as an investigator at the Contra Costa County district attorney’s office before being fired. He has sued, alleging age discrimination.
The SFPD this year rehired Van Koll, despite his legal troubles and track record in Contra Costa. The Standard has learned that the department fired him Sept. 18. The SFPD did not respond to a request for comment.
Background investigators play a key role in filtering incoming generations of police officers. Van Koll was tasked with looking for anything that might reflect poorly on a recruit’s judgment, such as unpaid bills or parking tickets, bad credit, and run-ins with the law.
Van Koll’s hiring, despite his record of legal issues, reflects a common practice by the SFPD of bringing in ex-officers with minimal scrutiny, said former internal affairs attorney Kelly O’Haire. “You can’t just hire people without a review,” she said. “That has to come from the top to ensure no favoritism, and a review of confidential background files. There has been a past practice of hiring friends. regardless of the background.”
Initially, the department told The Standard it had full confidence in its hiring decisions.
When Chief Bill Scott was questioned about The Standard’s reporting on the hiring of Van Koll during a Sept. 4 Police Commission meeting, he said background checks for former officers are not as robust as those for potential officers, but “if we find out something after we hire them, we can make an adjustment at that time.”
Van Koll is being sued by two former employees, in-home health workers who cared for his elderly parents, for violating labor laws, including failing to pay them. Van Koll and those employees were also involved in a physical altercation that resulted in a police report, but there were no charges.
‘If we find out something after we hire them, we can make an adjustment at that time.’
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott
Nathan Verbiscar-Brown, who represents the two health workers, said the firing is good news.
“My clients are heartened by the news that Mr. Van Koll will no longer be working for the San Francisco Police Department,” he said. “Effective policing requires the trust of the community served, which in turn requires police to conduct themselves with integrity — those that enforce our laws must abide by them, whether criminal laws, labor laws, or landlord-tenant.”
Meanwhile, the Contra Costa County district attorney’s office alleged in court documents related to Van Koll’s lawsuit that a number of red flags arose during his time as an investigator, including episodes in which he left his firearm unattended on his desk and made unsanctioned personal use of his patrol car.