In September, Joseph McNamara passed away due to pancreatic cancer. He and Charles Gain were police chiefs along with SF Sheriff Richard Hongisto, who while being disrespected by the rank and file as being too "liberal" represented a kind of community policing of which we would do well to try again. Trying to deliver police services rather than beat down thugs seems more likely to reduce civilian deaths. Yet the SF police units would return to the more fearsome black and white color scheme, as if lipstick on pigs makes bacon smell less porcine. Whether they wore blazers they were still armed, but it did seem more than cosmetic attempts to implement community policing in the land of the DFH.
Charles Gain (born November 1, 1923) is a retired police official, who served first as police chief for Oakland, Calif., then as chief in San Francisco in the 1970s. He was born in Hanford, California. In 1975, Gain was appointed to run the San Francisco Police Department by Mayor George Moscone and served 1975 to 1980. After Gain began implementing reforms, such as switching police cars from their traditional black and white paint scheme to baby blue, the Police Officers Association held a no-confidence vote on him.
Gain implemented policies that proved unpopular with his staff, such as painting police cars powder blue, and barring officers from drinking on the job. His lenient policies towards gays also angered the police force. When asked what he would do if a gay police officer came out, Gain replied "I certainly think that a gay policeman could be up front about it under me. If I had a gay policeman who came out, I would support him 100 percent." This statement sent shockwaves through the police department, and made national headlines. Made during the first week of Gain's tenure, the remark also made Mayor Moscone extremely unpopular with the police. The two were so intensely disliked by the police that in 1977 rumors circulated about a plan by right-wing police officers to assassinate Gain, and a year later similar plans formed targeting Mayor Moscone. Upon being informed of this threat, Moscone hired a bodyguard
After Moscone was assassinated in 1978, the union was influential in engineering Gain's replacement after the resulting White Night riots.
Joseph McNamara, who died at 79, opposed the war on drugs in favor of education, rehabilitation McNamara led the police force in Kansas City, Mo., before becoming chief of San Jose's police department in 1976. Over the next 15 years, until his retirement in 1991, he introduced broad reforms, including putting computers into patrol cars, hiring more women and minorities and emphasizing community policing. He took high-profile stands against the National Rifle Assn., posing for gun-control ads that portrayed the group as indifferent to the dangers that lax laws created for the average street cop. He also was a vocal opponent of the so-called war on drugs, arguing that strict "lock-'em-up" approaches were failing. At the same time, he demonstrated his effectiveness as a crime fighter. During his tenure as chief, San Jose's population grew by 40%, but major crimes — including homicide, rape, robbery, assault and burglary — dropped by 9%. "He was clearly looked upon as a leader … within the field of progressive police executive leadership," retired Seattle police Chief Norm Stamper said Tuesday. "He was particularly committed to his police officers being effective crime fighters but also honoring the civil liberties of the citizens they were hired to serve." Shortly before he retired, McNamara became one of the most prominent law enforcement figures to publicly criticize Gates after his officers' beating of Rodney G. King on March 3, 1991.
The question remains whether there are progressive police departments in the US or whether any department would even want to admit to that,
Fruitvale Station is a 2013 American drama film written and directed by Ryan Coogler. It is Coogler's first feature-length film and is based on the events leading to the death of Oscar Grant, a young man who was killed by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle at the Fruitvale Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Station in Oakland, California.
And yet there is some hope in this region:
Magnus is not the only Richmond leader who is proving that moderates and conservatives have been wrong on law and order. For years, the conventional wisdom has been that progressives don't know how to govern, and that they especially don't know how to manage a police department. Liberal politicians are often viewed as being anti-police, and according to the controlling point of view, if you elect them, chaos will surely follow. Wrong again. Since 2006, Richmond has had the most liberal mayor in the Bay Area — Gayle McLaughlin — a Green Party member who has waged battles against Big Oil and Big Banks. McLaughlin also happens to be an unabashed supporter of Magnus. In fact, the chief was able to institute his reforms without much opposition because of her leadership. In addition, progressives have held a majority of seats on the Richmond City Council since 2010 and remain committed to Magnus' ideas. Liberal politicians. Progressive police chief. Cops stop killing people. Protests go off peacefully. Crime drops dramatically.