San Francisco supervisors laid into the police department Wednesday over a scathing report that found officers sometimes went to work as private security officers on the same days they called in sick to get overtime.
Their critiques were many: It’s rule-breaking, a big win for corporations who can afford private security over taxpaying citizens, and it shakes the public’s trust.
“Bottom line, police officers need to work for San Franciscans, not for private entities,” Supervisor Jackie Fielder said during a budget committee hearing.
It was inopportune timing for the San Francisco Police Department. At the same meeting, the police and sheriff’s departments asked for approval of a combined $91 million in overtime spending. Officials also sought the OK for another $1.05 million for building maintenance.
Even SFPD Assistant Chief David Lazar admitted it was a big ask.
In his 33 years on the force, Lazar said he had “never seen this much overtime being spent.”
The big dollar bill, paired with a scathing review of police policy, drew surprising criticism from Supervisor Matt Dorsey, a former SFPD spokesperson who is perhaps the police’s most staunch defender on the board.
“I wish we were not in a situation,” Dorsey said, “where we have to approve this level of overtime.”
The December police audit, written by the board’s budget legislative analyst, found that the department was not tracking overtime, and that some officers were calling in sick and then working private security shifts — what SFPD calls its 10B program — in that same 24-hour period.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Lazar cast doubt on some of the report’s findings regarding the use of sick time.
He said it’s possible officers took sick leave on behalf of a family member, like taking a child home from school, or used their leave to attend a doctor’s appointment, but then worked a private security job later that same day.
Sick leave wasn’t the only department practice drawing scrutiny. Supervisor Shamann Walton, whose district includes the Bayview, skewered the department for failing to anticipate how much overtime funding it would need during regular budget proceedings last year.
“The department has not been able to adequately forecast their overtime budget every single year,” Walton said.
San Francisco’s budget season is gearing up. A roughly $820 million budget deficit fueled by downtown’s sluggish recovery led Mayor Daniel Lurie to call on all departments to cut 15% from their budgets earlier this year. City departments will come before the board’s budget committee one by one to justify their proposals for fiscal year 2025-26.
Though the sheriff’s department, which claimed its overtime cost swelled due to a growing jail population, was part of the budget item, it was SFPD that drew the most heat.
Lazar pointed to two drivers of the growing overtime: a staffing shortage of roughly 525 officers, and community policing called for by politicians. Roughly $30 million of SFPD’s overtime budget went to beefing up police presence in the Tenderloin, Union Square, and tourist areas, which drew resources from district stations.
“We’re pretty excited to ramp up staffing,” Lazar said. “The future is bright.”
But Supervisor Connie Chan threw cold water on that hope. City leaders need to acknowledge the “budget crisis,” Chan said. “I want to be really honest,” she told Lazar, noting that the city may not be able to afford to hire enough police to grow the force.
“We don’t have money. We’re in a budget deficit,” Chan said. “How can the police department — at this moment, I’m asking every department — how do we do more with I wouldn’t say less, but flat?”
Jonah Owen Lamb contributed to this story.