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And then there's the bizarre case of Hugues de la Plaza, who was found dead in his Hayes Valley apartment in June 2007. Detectives first surmised that despite neighbors hearing what sounded like a struggle, the French citizen had stabbed himself three times in the chest, then washed and hid the knife before collapsing on the living room floor.
De la Plaza's death wasn't included in last year's official murder count because the medical examiner and police have yet to classify it as a homicide, which has the victim's family and friends livid. "It's absolutely preposterous," says his former girlfriend, Melissa Nix.
However, his death is considered murder — in France. In June, a French government investigator and several assistants swooped into San Francisco, resulting in still more embarrassment to Fong and the department. "It was like some United Nations delegation parachuting into a Third World country," one cop fumes. Fong put on a brave face, insisting that the French weren't taking over the investigation, but merely contributing to it.
Less publicized is the fact that when the French investigators went home they took the forensics evidence with them, something Supervisor Aaron Peskin calls "simply outrageous."
The homicide meltdown is one reason some insiders at City Hall and elsewhere speculate that, despite the Police Commission intervention last fall, Fong's days as chief may be numbered.
After all, in a 2004 radio interview he may now regret, Newsom once said that if the surge of killings in the city didn't abate, his critics ought to launch a campaign to recall him from office. His aides later insisted that the mayor was speaking tongue-in-cheek. But with a potential race for governor looming, some are privately suggesting that Newsom may ultimately have to choose between offending some key local constituencies, or risk appearing soft on crime once he starts campaigning in earnest, should he decide to run.
Meanwhile, even some of Fong's supporters expect the question of her future to come to a head soon.
A Washington, D.C.–based research firm that specializes in helping police departments improve their operations began a top-to-bottom evaluation of the SFPD last year. What began two years ago as an initiative of the mayor's Office of Criminal Justice to seek advice from the Police Executive Research Forum about how to recruit, train, and deploy cops following discipline issues involving use of force has morphed into a comprehensive review of practically all facets of departmental operations.
Its slew of studies, having to do with everything from recruitment and training to staffing and operations, is expected to wrap up in the coming months as the prelude for an expected overhaul of the department, with the mayor, the supervisors, and the Police Commission all playing roles in shaping changes.
Fong's detractors are already speculating that any such overhaul will include a change of chiefs. Although not predicting it, even Theresa Sparks, the Police Commission president and Fong supporter, suggests that "if there is a correct time for this chief to be replaced or to retire," it will likely be in the aftermath of the consulting firm's recommendations.
As for Fong, Sparks says, "I know she's getting tired of all the politics. It's taking a toll on her."
