The new Sacramento Police Commission held its first meeting Monday. It was largely organizational in nature.
It also marked the first public meeting for Daniel Hahn as the city's new police chief.
"There's nobody more interested than me in our department in making sure that every single community feels like the department cares about them and has a great relationship because ultimately is what keeps our city safe and keeps people feeling valued in our city regardless of where they live."
Hahn is the city's first African American chief.
The commission has authority the old commission did not. It was changed in response to incidents in the last year between members of the community and officers.
Mayor Darrell Steinberg attended and thanked the commission members for their service.
"People are looking for a chance to be heard, always to be heard, and this is a very important venue for the people in this community and the men and women who represent us in uniform."
The commission does not have the ability to subpoena, but does have more authority than the previous commission when it comes to reviewing police actions and policy.
Tim Davis with the police union gave a presentation regarding the California Police Officer's Bill of Rights. The law may prevent the commission from acquiring some information from the department.
Basim Elkarra was selected to chair the commission. Mariana Sabeniano was selected as the vice chair.
Johnny Coleman, Kiran Savage-Sangwan, Mario Guerrero, Wendy Hoyt, Eddie Escobar, Erandi Zamora, Richard Falcon, Renee Carter and Samuel Kinsey are the other members.
Francine Tournour is head of the Office of Public Accountability and Safety. She ran the meeting.
The commission will hold its next meeting October 29th.
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