Yesterday, the San Francisco Police Commission voted unanimously to nominate Assistant Police Chief Heather Fong as the city’s Interim Police Chief. Mayor Gavin Newsom picked Fong for the position on Sunday and is expected to have her sworn in today, NBC11 reports. The mayor told the San Francisco Chronicle that he hopes Fong will be able to restore public trust in the department after a 2002 scandal.
Fong, a 26-year veteran, says she will quickly launch her concrete plans to reform the department. The Chronicle went on to say that members of the city’s Asian community hope that after the appointment of an Asian American to the post they will see improvements made to police relations with the Asian community, including hiring more Asian language speaking officers. Last Friday, Mayor Newsom swore in another woman, Joanne Hayes-White, as San Francisco’s first woman fire chief.
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