SAN FRAN MAYOR, CHIEF retreating.  ALL OFFICERS return FROM SUSPENSION

NJLawman.com
Friday, December 16, 2005 1:56 a.m.

All 24 officers involved in the now-infamous videos, including the mastermind Police Officer Andrew Cohen, have been reinstated.

We and most officers applaud this.

The group was formally suspended without pay several days ago for their involvement and or participation in the spoof videos which depict officers in skits similar to what may be seen on Reno 9-1-1.

Perhaps a nice read of the the Bill or Rights sobered up Mayor Gavin Newsome and Police Chief Heather Fong.

This case still has to be watched closely.  While the suspensions may be over, there are still charges pending.

Also, the San Francisco Police Officer's Association has reportedly refused to provide legal defense for Officer Cohen.

There has to be more to this, so judgment is reserved for now.

situation worsens, mayor wants 4 investigations, and tapes are released

NJLawman.com
Sunday, December 11, 2005 1:56 a.m.

In a moment, you will see six of the videos involved in this "scandal."

This is going to be quite an interesting test of free speech.  We'll be watching closely.

If you thought before that the mayor and police chief overreacted in calling for an "urgent press conference" of the national media, you will probably feel even stronger after seeing the videos.

First, some quick facts and quotes:

The videos are "egregious, shameful and despicable."

     -San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong

"The videos include scenes of uniformed and plainclothes officers mocking the homeless, women, Asians, African-Americans and gay men."

     -The New York Times

the content "ranges from immature and vulgar to sexist, racist and homophobic."

     -San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong

"It is shameful, it is offensive, it is sexist, it is homophobic and it is racist," Newsom said. "We're going to make sure that it ends, it ends immediately."

     -San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom

"This is a dark day, an extremely dark day, in the history of the San Francisco Police Department."

     -San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong

Mayor Gavin Newsom has called for four as many as four investigations by the following:

• San Francisco Police Department Internal Affairs Unit

• A "Blue Ribbon Commission"

• The City Human Rights Commission

• The Commission on the Status of Women

It must be quite motivating to do your job with a mayor like Gavin Newsom at the helm.  I'm surprised that officers at SFPD do anything proactive.

In most agencies, officers who are suspected of violating the rules are just called in for an investigation.  In San Francisco, they hold a national press conference where they release all of the evidence. 

And they wonder why there is such piss poor morale within that agency.

After viewing the videos, please stop back and post your comments in the forum. 

Six of the videos can be see at http://www.kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=4231099&nav=5D7l

NJLawman.com
Sunday, December 11, 2005 1:56 a.m.

San Francisco Cops in
Trouble for Spoof Videos

NJLawman.com
Friday, December 9, 2005 1:56 a.m.

Up to twenty officers from the San Francisco Police Department are in hot water for their role (literally) in a collection of spoof videos filmed and produced by San Fran Police Officer Andrew Cohen.

The videos are silly clips of officers from various backgrounds starring in situations ranging from a Charlie's Angel's spoof to officers disregarding a gun call to instead visit a massage parlor.

In one clip, an oblivious officer is describing himself and the job and runs over a homeless woman.

Share your opinion of this story and see others. Watch the Video

Cohen, 39, told reporters that the videos were made for an upcoming Christmas party and were in no way intended to attack any person or group.

"We did this absolutely for morale purposes," he told ABC. "We did it for a Christmas party that was coming up, sort of to roast my former captain.

At some point, bosses from the San Francisco Police Department learned of the videos and launched an investigation. 

Yesterday, they held a press conference and released segments of the videos to the national media.

San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong told reporters, "This is a dark day -- an extremely dark day -- in the history of the San Francisco Police Department."

The mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom also spoke at the press conference. 

"This is a gigantic wake-up call," Newsom told reporters. "We've known what lies beneath the surface. We've talked about changes and we've certainly made plenty of changes but now this calls for, clearly, an order of magnitude shift."

Our Take

An extremely dark day in the history of the San Francisco Police Department?  Your kidding right?

An "extremely dark day" is when an officer falls, not when some officers get together and play Reno 9-1-1 for a day.

And the mayor's comments.

A gigantic wake-up call? 

Wake-up call to what sir?  That cops can be silly heads?

Maybe it's me, but it seemed that the officers were making fun of themselves more than anyone else.  If the exact same thing was on an episode of Reno 9-1-1 or Saturday Night Live, no one would have noticed.

As of this writing, there are 445 news stories on this situation over at Google News.  This is overkill.

If, in making the videos, it's determined that the officers violated established rules and regulations, they should be held responsible and treated fairly.

But, to conjure this into some conspiracy by a racist, anti-women, anti-gay fifth column within the San Francisco Police Department is a bit much.

Calling for a news conference of the national media seems a bit much too.

Click here to share your opinion of this story and see others.

To watch the video in an ABC news report, click here.

NJLawman.com
Friday, December 9, 2005 1:56 a.m.

Video of the Actual Press Conference that launched the San Fran 'Scandal'

NJLawman.com
Friday, December 16, 2005 1:56 a.m.

This is quite comical.

In a moment, you will see the video of the actual press conference given back in December.

Now what happened was, the police chief, Heather Fong, and the mayor, Gavin Newsom, learned of the videos created by Police Officer Andrew Cohen and his helpers.

Mind you, San Francisco was just finishing up a year where the murder rate was the highest in ten years. 

After viewing them, they must have concluded that

All 24 officers involved in the now-infamous videos, including the mastermind Police Officer Andrew Cohen, have been reinstated.

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