By Emily Green
San Francisco Chronicle
SAN FRANCISCO — Toney Chaplin, named acting chief of police Thursday to replace Greg Suhr, is a 26-year veteran who has led the department’s reform efforts in recent months.
Chaplin has spoken frankly about the problems within the San Francisco Police Department, but Mayor Ed Lee is also said to have chosen him in part because the rank and file respects him. That he is African American could also help smooth relations between the SFPD and minority communities.
He worked in the Mission and Taraval stations, on the gang task force and as head of the homicide unit. Chaplin, 47, who has been a sergeant, lieutenant and captain, made a quick rise up the ranks over the last couple of years to become one of a handful of deputy chiefs, the second-highest-ranking position in the department.
In that position, he was charged with overseeing reforms, including putting into practice President Obama’s 21st Century Policing recommendations,which include independent investigations into officer-involved shootings and addressing racial profiling. He also acted as a liaison to the U.S. Department of Justice’s community policing unit in its ongoing review of the SFPD that was requested by the mayor, Suhr and other city officials.
“He’s established a record of commitment to the city’s diverse communities,” Lee said at Thursday’s news conference announcing Suhr’s resignation and Chaplin’s appointment. “I will hold the acting chief and the department to a high standard of urgency to implement the reforms we’ve already announced.”
Sgt. Yulanda Williams, who is president of Officers for Justice, a black officers’ association, said Suhr was right to step down after the mayor requested his resignation and praised the selection of Chaplin.
Williams said she had gone to the Hall of Justice Thursday afternoon for a scheduled meeting with Suhr, but instead met with the new acting chief, whom she already knew well. She and Chaplin had been classmates at the Police Academy — he was president of their class, and she was vice president.
Note: Watch Chaplin speak about policing and some of the SFPD’s struggles about 46 minutes into the below video.
During the meeting, Chaplin said he was committed to “transparency and community relations,” Williams said. He recognized the “need to foster better relations with the community,” she said.
Born in Oklahoma, Chaplin has talked bluntly at times about racism and bigotry he has experienced. Last year, a few weeks after racist and homophobic text messages sent among some San Francisco police officers were made public, he spoke of the “unenviable position of being African American and being a cop.”
“I apologize if I offend anybody, but I wasn’t shocked by any of it,” he said. “Most of us African Americans have experienced it throughout the years. So if you’re trying to scare me and go ‘boo,’ it didn’t work. We’ve seen it before.”
In an interview with The Chronicle in January, after the fatal police shooting of Mario Woods, he said distrust of the department among minority communities is deserved.
“We have got to build that bridge again (with the community), and we are pretty much starting from scratch at this point,” Chaplin said.
Police Commissioner Victor Hwang said he wanted a national search for a new chief.
“We have a lot of good policies. We don’t have the implementation we would like to see. And that’s been the problem we have seen over the last couple of shootings,” Hwang said. “I think something drastic needs to change.”
How long Chaplin will lead the SFPD is unknown: A source in the mayor’s office said Lee plans to conduct a national search but is open to internal candidates.
Copyright 2016 the San Francisco Chronicle