Days after a recruit died following an intense training exercise at the San Francisco Police Department’s academy, top brass made moves that appear to signal a change in academy leadership.
One day after recruit Jon-Marques Psalms’ death Aug. 22, the San Francisco Police Department transferred the academy’s day-to-day operations head, Lt. Ray Cruz, to Central Station. Four days later, his boss, newly appointed academy head Capt. Chris Canning, informed staff that he was taking a planned month-long trip.
SFPD spokesperson Evan Sernoffsky said the change to academy leadership, and Canning’s trip for training purposes, were planned before Psalms’ death and part of a larger department reorganization.
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But four former department leaders said Cruz’s departure and Canning’s monthlong absence — and his temporary replacement by another captain — so soon after a tragedy are unusual.
“To move the lieutenant and captain is concerning,” a former department leader said, adding that an academy without stable leadership presents a host of problems, especially after the death of a trainee officer.
Canning told staff Aug. 27 that “prior to my transfer to the Training Division, I made travel arrangements where I’ll be away essentially the entire month of September,” according to a document reviewed by The Standard. He added that Captain Chris Wilhelm would take over the academy from Sept. 2 to Oct. 6. No mention was made of the recruit’s death.
Over that period, Canning will take time off for vacation and head to the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, according to department documents reviewed by The Standard.
But the fact that the academy chief’s training session and vacation plans weren’t canceled after Psalm’s death troubled several former cops. “You don’t normally have a captain covering for another captain even for a month,” a former SPFD leader said. The training “may have been planned, but do you remove leadership after a tragedy?”
The department did not respond when asked about the nature of Canning’s training trip or when it was approved by Deputy Chief Nicole Jones.
Another former department leader frowned at the timing of Canning taking a trip and his deputy, Cruz, being transferred. “Three days after the death, you say this?” he said. “Under the roof of your training facility somebody died.”
Another applauded the quick action to put new blood in charge of the academy at a time when the SFPD can ill afford additional mistakes or accidents. “Anytime something like this happens, it’s important to look at the potential for organizational failure,” he said.
The accidental death of a recruit is likely to curtail SFPD recruitment efforts, which have struggled amidst a shortfall of 500 officers. To drum up interest in a career as a cop, the department has been offering signing bonuses and high salaries and has even floated the idea of shortening training time at its academy.
Psalms, who was hospitalized Aug. 20 after taking part in a so-called RedMan exercise, which simulates confrontations between officers and suspects, died after two days on life support. The exercise, which has been criticized because of the risk of injury and death, has a recruit face off against an opponent who wears a padded RedMan training suit. The drill is mandated by California’s Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, the agency overseeing law enforcement education and protocol.
The SFPD maintains that Canning is not being permanently removed from his position at the academy. Canning replaced Capt. Sean Perdomo at the SFPD academy on July 19, moving from the Richmond Station as part of a department-wide reshuffling of station captains initiated by interim Chief Paul Yep.
Wilhelm, the academy’s temporary leader, recently headed SFPD crime information services division after being elevated to captain by Yep. His wife, Angela Wilhelm, is captain at Park Station.
Psalms’ death is under investigation by the SFPD, the San Francisco chief medical examiner, and the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration.