“The Gruesome Two-some…”

I’ve never seen anything quite like it – a police officer directly poking fun at the chief of the department and the mayor, on video. But, this is has been an extraordinary story for so long.  First came the outrage.  December 7th, 2005 – San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Police Chief Heather Fong hold a news conference to blast the officers appearing in a comedy video; they play several clips and announce they’re suspending all officers involved.  They label the video “sexist and racist”, “an extremely dark day in the history of the San Francisco Police Department”.  At the time, no one really knew the story behind the video – no one in authority had even asked the officers involved, before that news conference.  No question, some of the scenes were raunchy and politically incorrect.  But then, we learned each skit actually poked fun at a particular officer, and that the video was produced in honor of a retiring captain.  It was scheduled to be played at a Bayview Station Christmas party.  Before that word could get out, the story had already been framed – “sexist, racist ... an extremely dark day.” The officers involved were upset that Newsom and Fong publicly discussed what had already become a personnel matter.  They filed a $20 million federal lawsuit, claiming racial discrimination.  As we reported in May, Chief Fong did not treat four Asian officers the same as other officers who appeared in the video – she didn’t suspend the Asian officers, even though they played prominent roles.  Then, we reported that lawyers for the suspended officers want to depose Mayor Newsom about substance abuse.  The lawyers wonder whether the mayor’s decision-making at the time was impaired.  After all, Newsom admitted a problem with alcohol that dates back to the video scandal.  It’s an obvious tactic to pressure the city to settle the case. Now, Andrew Cohen takes this shot.  It’s clear he doesn’t expect to go back on the streets as a San Francisco police officer.  He tells me, “My career’s over.”  But, until that lawsuit is over one way or another, Cohen says he’ll keep the pressure on the mayor and the chief.

Comments

[zahira Cortes]

Chief Fong is out of her mind, I don't know why she just doesn't put this case behind her and have everyone go back to work....The SFPD doesn't have that many Police Officers, heres is a novel idea, forget punishment and have the Police Officers go back to being Police Officers....maybe if Chief Fong did this violent crime may go down....I realize Chief Fong leads by image but what kind of image does she want crime and violence to continue going up or the supression of crime and the community to be safe

[CtheTruth]

Here is another display of how disfunctional SFPD is, and have been for years.The first video got out and showed exactly what they are doing, when in fact those officers shown should have been doing their damn job that the city and tax payers pay them to do, which is fight crime and come up with positive solutions to help the city improve. Now you have Newsom, Fong and Harris, that have came in and shook up the good ol' boy network and now egos are hurt!!!WHATEVER!! Get over yourselves and any officer that got in trouble for wasting my hard earned money for goofing off DESERVED what they got. It is always the so called elitist that is always crying foul when they get caught. All involved in those videos and it's creator of the video need MENTAL HEALTH counseling with a huge dose of REALITY FEEDBACK. This is comming from some one that has personal insight on SFPD and know how corrupt alot of the officers are. Just look at at them now and how most are behaving. Let's not forget about Fajita Gate!!! to name another.

[H. Porter]

This is good clean humor. Newsome and Fong need to get on with city business. Find some other way to get in the headlines

[The Producer]

Look, if it isn't blatently apparent yet; so long as we are to suffer at the whim of the Chief and Mayor, then we will continue to apply pressures from wherever, and however we can.

Fighting "City Hall" is no easy task, however, time seems to be on our side. You see, the longer we are being banished and punished for this rediculous scandal, we are offered a comfortable cushion of time to rally the troops, to weigh options, to research and remember and to plan our strategies. This has proven quite fruitful thus far, and we have secured ample ammo to ensure a victory. The hole that this Mayor, Chief and their administration has dug for themselves is quite deep, and is gettng deeper by the day. The entire story is yet to be told and we intend to tell it as loudly as we can. Actually, the facts surrounding this case haven't even been fully recognized by us yet, and the Federal subpoena power that has yet to be unleashed is going to net some very interesting evidence to be exposed during all of the proceedings that lay ahead. Not only did "they" make a big mistake by attempting to use us for a political agenda, they have made an even bigger mistake by taking so damn long to clean up their mess. They destroyed our reputations and our careers, now they must pay for it.

As for the inappropriate actions of the President of the POA, Gary Delagnes, he needs to stop pointing the finger at me and start acting like the leader he was elected to be. Nobody is buying his rhetoric and bullying behavior anymore. Now we want action. Stand up for the membership for which you call "your own" and fight the good fight. You can blame me until the cows come home but it won't right this wrong for which you too are culpable for.

Fierro en Guerra.

-Officer Andrew Cohen

[sfmike]

Dear Andrew: My only criticism is that the video is a bit too long and repetitive. Otherwise, amazing, especially the "to cover up a record homicide rate" refrain. Keep trucking, and maybe we can be rid of Fong, Newsom AND Delagnes soon.

[Gld2bInTX]

I just have a few choice words for the person claiming to have insight into the SFPD. You call "A lot of the officers" corrupt. If you really had insight and knew officers, you would see that the officers of the SFPD are honest and hardworking men and women, who are doing a job that you are entirely incappable of doing. Instead you sit in the safety that they provide you, and complain and complain. You want officers to be everything but you do not afford them the oppotunity to be human beings. The officers of Bayview are exposed to more that you could ever imagine. They have lost hard working, honest, and exraordinary officers in the line of duty, been attacked verbally and physically by the community they serve, and see death and dispair on a daily basis. If anyone deserves to blow off a little steam and poke fun at themselves, it is the officers of Bayview Station. Don't judge them until you have walked in their shoes. If you only knew the officers in the videos, you would know that these men and women are not just cops, they are a goup of dedicated professionals that put themselves at risk everyday doing some of the hardest work in the city, and for what? They do it so people like you can sleep safely at night, even if you spend your days complaining about them based on the inaccurate and biased information that you take in(garbage in, garbage out).

[SFResident]

Keep it up Cohen...Expose all of it! {PS if you can sneak in something about all the BS in management please do so} Fong should have been fired after her first year as we all know she is no leader for anything other than admin/clerk job but Newsom is too afraid to make his administration look unstable {thinking back to how many chiefs have passed under those 5 stars in the last 16 years} he cant dare to come off like Jordon did as Mayor. Isn't it a fact that more officers have died in the line of duty under her watch than for any other chief? Thankfully after the newsome re-election {sadly} the city will get a new chief who might be concerned with the non-stop crime and understaffing

My big question is, why did the first video leak out before its being played at the intended retirement party? I am not saying that it was okay for the Mayor and Chief and POA to do what they did BUT why would you send out the video file to anyone before or after? Obviously it would get sent around in these nice long e-mail chains for daily entertainment. It would seem to me to be a very "eyes only" type of media to protect those who appeared/created it...

[pm/livermore]

The gruesome-two-some,hum? sounds like shot's back to back with a whiff of cocaine that's newsom to the S.F. Bar seen!And YES! punn- intended!with that being said, myself, I come from a family rich in police history, so I have first hand knowledge of the monotonous daily life of a police officer's routine of dealing with an almost always negitive issue. I felt the chief and mayor's extreme handling of the situation with out any resolution of handling any part of it internally, first says to me that this is a political solution to save their faces and a few other parts below which could reflect Newsom's re-election and Fong's lean repremending of the asian officer's( you know how many votes she wolud lose in china-town!)HUM! wonder if there's any political joke's there!!!anyway I believe " If you can't laugh at yourself,who can you laugh at!" Newsom and Fong's philosphy is " YOU CAN'T LAUGH AT YOURSELF AND YOU CAN'T LAUGH!" Which will probally be in the next contract negotiations with S.F.P.D.(you will not be allowed in any SF Comedy Club's,unless dispatched while on duty!This is not a laughing matter please adhere to the new-som P.D. Policy!)...YAH-RIGHT! So hat's to you COHEN- Kick the tire's and Light the fire's big daddy, keep it up,cop's need relief too!(cop-relief) sounds like it could be an annual comedy event!!!Ever thought of becoming a comedy promoter! As for NEWSOM " KARMA BABY" The skeleton's that come out of your closet probably won't be funny either.Newsom should realize that policer officer's have one of the highest suicide rates due to the inability to relieve the daily grinding stress of their job. If only city mayor's job had the same rate!These are NEWSOM'S STRESS'S-#1 Did I look good on camera? #2 Did I only answer controled questions! #3 Did I bull-shit enough to side step the true question with out losing any political ground?? #4 IF ALL ELSE FAILS-REMEMBER TO DENY EVERYTHING!!!

[Officer Bill]

Keep up the fight!

[xirxes]

Cohen, you are quite talented. I sure hope you guys have some serious evidence on Gavin doing coke. This guy has got to go.

[A. Smith]

Ask why Golden Gate Transit bought some new articulated busses. Their delivery drivers stopped at a CHP weight station as a professional driver would. CHP wouldn’t let them leave because they were overweight from the factory. They removed the seats to get the weight down. CHP released them.
Delivered them to the San Rafael yard where the manufacture put the seats back in so they could put passengers in them and be on the road. Not over weight now are they?

[dan]

Mayor Gavin Newsom was drunk when he appointed Police Chief Heather Fong.

[Jim Nakamura]

My favorite Cohen video was this one.

Question: Has Chief Fong ever fired a gun?

[Jim Nakamura]

Oops. The url didn't show up. But anywhere, here it is again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkf-BS670jE

This is a city run by a press office that is losing its touch. Let's see. It's politically correct to hire a elderly Chinese woman to head the police department, an Irish woman to head the fire department, a transvestite to head the Police Commission, but is it the right way to run the City? One can always count on our mayor to do the politically correct thing, like walking the picket line during the hotel strike, but all he did was extend the strike, get national attention, but he cost the City millions with that gimick in lost tourist dollars.

I wish we had a mayor who was less concerned about being politically correct and more concerned about doing the right thing.

Oh, he did a number on us cab drivers by doubling the number of taxis in SF several years ago without giving us a raise when he headed Mayor Brown's Taxi Task Force, using cab drivers as a stepping stone to launch his career.

Oh, and does anyone remember this story:

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=i_team&id=4396425

when an an ex yellow cab driver who burglarized his customers became head of the taxi commission?

I don't know whether to laugh or cry when it comes to this administration.

Get rid of Fong and put in someone who has some damn street experience.

Jim Nakamura