Mayor Names Heather Fong Interim Police Chief
January 23, 2004
At the request of Mayor Gavin Newsom, Assistant Chief Heather Fong will become San Francisco’s acting chief and replace Police Chief Alex Fagan, Newsom said Jan. 18. Fong’s elevation to chief forms an unprecedented circle of Asian Pacific Americans in the city’s top law enforcement positions. Fong joins the recently inaugurated District Attorney Kamala Harris and two-year Public Defender Jeff Adachi.
Fong becomes the first woman and first APA woman to become police chief of San Francisco. Fred Lau, the first APA, served as the city’s second-longest police chief from 1996 to 2002.
The Cantonese-speaking Fong in 1996 served as commander of Central Station, overseeing North Beach and Chinatown. The San Francisco native was born and raised in North Beach.
For the 26-year veteran Fong, the job as acting chief is a return to a post she briefly held while then Police Chief Earl Sanders, assistant chief Fagan and most of her peers were under indictment. Fong, whose appointment was to be approved by the Police Commission yesterday, talked and joked with Mayor Newsom on Jan. 18 at the opening ceremony of the Tet Festival.
When asked if her duties as acting chief are a tryout for the permanent position, Fong said “My whole career has been a tryout.”
Fong told reporters that said she wants to review investigation and discipline issues and improve technology within the department.
“I am very excited,” Fong said of her new position.
Terrie Swann, president of the International Association of Women Police, applauded Fong’s appointment.
“She deserves it. She’s a wonderful leader and she’s come up through the ranks,” Swann said.
Newsom’s appointment of Fong continues his selection of women to major posts since becoming mayor on Jan. 8. Before Fong, he tabbed Joanne Hayes-White as the city’s first female fire chief and Heather Hiles to the elected post of school board. On Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, he announced the appointment of Michela Alioto-Pier, to succeed him in his supervisor’s seat.
The Fong announcement caps a turbulent year for Alex Fagan, who became chief last spring after being cleared of conspiracy charges in connection to a Nov. 20, 2002 brawl between two men and three off-duty cops, including Alex Fagan Jr.
Fong, who joined the force in 1977 and now oversees its operations and administration, was one of the few top cops to avoid the sting of indictment following the scandal that has been dubbed Fajitagate. Legal proceedings for the three officers involved in the fight are ongoing.
Newsom’s removal of Fagan also fulfills his campaign promise to find a new chief. A national search is currently underway, although Fong will remain in consideration for the permanent post.
“Public confidence in our police department is essential in this city,” Newsom said. “We must reform the department and restore the full faith of our city in the department and Chief Fong will begin that process.”
Fagan said he “absolutely” has confidence that Assistant Chief Fong is capable of leading the 2,300-strong team of officers.
The change comes as weeks of infighting between various potential appointees to Fagan’s post have wracked the police department, and even his supporters were quick to welcome the change.
“As a longtime supporter of Alex Fagan, I’m glad the mayor made this move,” said Wayne Friday, the longest-serving current member of the Police Commission. “It’s been pretty tense down [at the Hall of Justice]. I am confident Chief Fong will do a great job, and she certainly has my full support.”
Fagan will take over San Francisco’s Office of Emergency Services, where, he said, he will work to pull city departments together to better prepare for major disasters and terrorist attacks.
“I think that everyone realized that Sept. 11 changed the world forever,” Fagan said.
Fagan said that Fong is the right person to build on the work he’s done to improve police discipline proceedings, including better cooperation with the Office of Citizen Complaints.
“I think the foundation is there,” Fagan said.
Fagan, a former police captain, became assistant chief last summer as Mayor Willie Brown appointed Earl Sanders chief. When Sanders retired shortly after being cleared of any wrongdoing in Fajitagate, Brown made Fagan chief. Many count the high point of his administration as the handling of tens of thousands of demonstrators intent on shutting down The City in response to the Iraq war last March.
“Who would have ever dreamed that I’d have had the 18 months I had?” Fagan said, counting himself “blessed.”
The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this story.
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