Board approves retroactive SFPD acceptance of COPS hiring grant, city attorney flags ongoing litigation

The Board of Supervisors on April 28 authorized the San Francisco Police Department to retroactively accept and expend approximately $6,250,000 in federal COPS hiring grant funds to add 50 grant-funded officer positions. The ordinance also amends the annual salary ordinance to provide for those positions.

Supervisor Chan highlighted the Budget & Legislative Analyst's verification and sought assurance that accepting the grant would not jeopardize the city's sanctuary policies. Deputy City Attorney Brad Russi reported the city has litigation challenging some Department of Justice conditions tied to the grant; "Currently, those conditions, we were we prevailed so far in that litigation, and there's a preliminary injunction in place that prevents the city from having to comply with the conditions that we're contesting," Russi said.

The item was taken "same house, same call" and passed on first reading without objection. The clerk recorded the passage on first reading and the item will return for any required subsequent steps.

Why it matters: The grant will fund 50 temporary positions to be used under the COPS hiring program, but the litigation over DOJ conditions means the city is continuing to challenge federal stipulations it considers inconsistent with local policy. The record preserves the city attorney's summary of the injunction and the board's action to accept the funds while litigation proceeds.

Next steps: The ordinance passed on first reading; further clerical steps and budget adjustments will follow to add the grant-funded positions and reflect them in payroll and salary ordinances.