Breed tries again, nominates former Supervisor Malia Cohen to Police Commission

After her two most recent nominations were rejected by the Board of Supervisors, San Francisco Mayor London Breed is trying again with the nomination of former Supervisor Malia Cohen to the Police Commission.

Cohen, a San Francisco native, was a two-term supervisor who represented District 10 from 2011 to 2018 and who succeeded Breed as president of the board in 2018. She is currently an elected member on the state’s Board of Equalization.

The former supervisor has been outspoken for years about police reforms at the San Francisco Police Department, especially after officers in her district fatally shot 26-year-old Mario Woods in 2015.

Breed said in a statement Monday:

“The recent high-profile killings of Black Americans by police officers has focused the nation’s attention on the urgent need to rethink the role that police play in our communities, and this is an issue that Malia has been a leader on her whole career.”

The Police Commission is charged with setting policies for the Police Department and holding disciplinary officer hearingss.

The mayor touted Cohen’s record while on the BOS, including her efforts to ban police use of chokeholds and creating the Department of Police Accountability, which has the power to audit the Police Department and investigate police shootings.

In a statement, Cohen said she looks forward working with supervisors, Police Chief Bill Scott and the rest of the Police Department:

“My hope is that all who come into contact with the SFPD, particularly African Americans and persons of color, will be treated with respect, and that the Mayor’s reforms will build bridges and become a model for our country during these troubled times.”

Cohen’s nomination comes after supervisors rejected Breed’s nominations of Nancy Tung and Geoffrey Gordon-Creed last month.

Supervisors expressed that they wanted nominees with more experience in reforming police policies, especially in the era of reckoning sparked by the police shooting of George Floyd in Minnesota on May 25.

Cohen’s nomination will first go through the board’s Rules Committee and will then to the full board for approval or rejection.