Last night's Police Commission meeting [RealPlayer] started off with rollicking public comment from officers and the public. Officers were particularly upset over the termination of officer Anthony Nelson. Nelson was terminated after breaking the arm of an anti-war protestor and then filing a report with erroneous information about the circumstances. One of the two commissioners who voted against his termination was Peter Keane, who is also the dean of the law school at Golden Gate University (hence his nickname, "The Professor").
But near the end of the meeting, Keane's stormy tenure on the commission came to an end. "Because of the needs of other competing aspects on my time, I'm submitting my resignation from this commission with deep regret tonight." He thanked the commission, chief Heather Fong and her command staff, and the officers of the SFPD. After thanking Keane for his service on the commission, Joe Veronese quipped "I know the POA is going to miss you," referring to the Police Officers Association which has tangled with Keane in the past.
According to H. Brown, this news came as a complete surprise to Matt Gonzalez, who as Board President originally appointed Keane to the post 18 months ago. Also surprised was Aaron Peskin, who as the chair of the Rules Committee, will join Ross Mirkarimi and Michela Alioto-Pier in recommending a replacement, who will then be voted on by the full Board of Supervisors. Chris Daly has lobbied in the past for teacher and activist Kim-Shree Maufas to be appointed. Maufas has been a vocal activist for police reform since the raid on Thurgood Marshall High School by the SFPD in October of 2002.
We spoke to Gary Delagnes, President of the POA, who hopes "the board puts someone in there that we can work with." While he admitted that his professional relationship with Keane has been contentious, he still hoped that everything was okay with his family and wished them well. He didn't want to speculate as to other motives for Keane's resignation, he pointed out that Commission President Louise Renne stepped in to push for Nelson's termination, which surpassed any of Keane's proposed punishments. Renne was not present at the meeting when Keane resigned.
Update: Chris Daly just called us back to let us know that Heather Fong has also resigned, citing health reasons. He suggested that a hispanic commissioner would address concerns raised after Theresa Sparks appointment, and reitirated his support for Kim-Shree Maufas appointment. Boris Delepine, an aide to Ross Mirkarimi, let us know that you can download an application for consideration by the Rules Committee online [PDF].
Update: Our sources are only as good as our sources' sources. Jamie forwards a note from Alex Clemens at the Usual Suspects says the chief here to stay:
A highly placed source from the Mayor's Office reports that the Sfist report on Chief Heather Fong's departure is incorrect, and that the Chief is not resigning.