Coalition for a Safe San Francisco

02/02/2017

Good News: SFPD Suspends Participation with the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Effective Immediately.

11/12/2015

04/02/2015

A Bay Area man is desperate to escape Yemen, which is under siege from Saudi airstrikes, but his efforts to leave put him in danger.

03/26/2015

Department did not report encounter in question at last month's Police Commission meeting.

03/03/2015

San Francisco police working alongside federal law enforcement officials on the Joint Terrorism Task Force might be violating department rules and city law. The case...

06/28/2014

It is the great relief and thankfulness that I can now report that all charges have been dropped against my client Dr. Sami Al-Arian. Minutes ago, United States District Judge Judge Anthony J. Tren...

04/04/2014

Today and tomorrow insha'Allah!

03/19/2014

09/11/2013

Please help us spread this Know Your Rights guide to Syrians in the Bay Area about protecting your rights when approached by the FBI or other law enforcement agencies. Read for information about Temporary Protective Status benefits as well.

http://bit.ly/kyrsyria

09/11/2013

Update on continuing work: "SFPD won't allow public oversight of its surveillance work with the FBI, despite high-profile legislation requiring it. In May 2012, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the Safe San Francisco Civil Rights Ordinance, which Mayor Ed Lee signed in a photo-op ceremony with Police Chief Greg Suhr and the activists who supported it. They claimed the board's passage of the ordinance ushered in a new era of transparency over the SFPD's previously secretive work with the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force.

"The ordinance basically requires three things," Nasrina Bargzie, a civil rights attorney at the Asian Law Caucus who worked on the measure, told the Bay Guardian. "The first part requires that the Police Department work with the JTTF has to follow the California constitutional rights of privacy, so they're not following the lax standards of the [US] Department of Justice. The second part is that they can no longer enter into any secret agreements with the FBI; it has to go before the Police Commission in a public setting. The final part of the ordinance exists to make sure the rules are being followed, so there is a requirement for a yearly report."

"We have been extremely disappointed at the lack of information that has been included in the reports," Summer Hararah, Regional Director for the Greater San Francisco Area Muslim Legal Fund of America told us. Activists have sparred with Chief Suhr over implementation of the ordinance and its required annual report since at least the beginning of 2013. Deputy Chief John Loftus presented the first report to the Police Commission on Jan. 23, which claimed the SFPD was in "full compliance" with the ordinance without providing any details. Activists and the public quickly demanded a real response. Suhr apologized for the omissions while stating his department was still in compliance with the ordinance's guidelines, pledging to be more forthcoming.

Suhr then released a second report, which contained more relevant information, stating that SFPD officers did not act as informants in 2012 and three full-time SFPD officers were assigned to the JTTF. But the report still omitted key oversight information, such as whether any prosecutions resulted from JTTF and SFPD investigations. "Civil rights is not a symbolic issue," Hararah told us. "The mayor backed this legislation and we want to see that the commitment is put forth. The first step is having info about what the JTTF is doing to be sure it abides by human rights protections and is appropriate."

[email protected] high-profile local civil rights ordinance passed last year to shine light on the San Francisco Police Department's joint activities with the FBI has been undermined by the SFPD's refusal to disclose its surveillance activities. This comes at a time when the public is learning more tha...

08/31/2013

In an unusual step, federal officials also warned agencies and companies of possible cyberattacks if the military takes action against Syria.

08/22/2013

New York just made civil rights history! Just moments ago the City Council voted to override Mayor Bloomberg’s veto of two Community Safety Act bills that will enact real and lasting reforms to discriminatory policing practices, including the NYPD’s abusive stop and frisk program. The fact that a super-majority of City Council Members held firm against heavy intimidation and fear mongering by Mayor Bloomberg shows the power of community activism in calling for a new approach to policing and public safety in New York.

August 22, 2013 New York just made civil rights history! Just moments ago the City Council voted to override Mayor Bloomberg’s veto of two Community Safety Act bills that will enact real and lastin...