Shoshana Walter/The Bay Citizen

Mayor Ed Lee laughs at a joke during police Chief Greg Suhr's speech at the swearing-in ceremony April 27 at City Hall

Matthew Balzarini, an officer at the Bayview station, where Suhr served as captain, agreed that there is widespread concern about the impending cuts but that officers are coming to realize that sacrifices are necessary.

“I think we're all distraught over the whole thing, but everyone understands the climate we're in right now,” Balzarini said. “We know that things have to change.”

Mazzucco said Suhr's appointment has made the prospect of concessions more palatable.

“When you have somebody who has the respect of the rank and file, if he walks into a station and goes, 'We have to feel a little of the pain too. I'm not gonna take a pay raise,' if Greg Suhr says that, the rank and file are going to follow through.”

Martin said the police union has not yet scheduled a time to meet with the mayor to officially begin negotiations. Suhr met with Lee after the swearing-in ceremony Wednesday to discuss ways to reduce the department's budget. Suhr is consulting various constituencies within the department as he assesses how to trim the command staff and other areas. 

According to police officials, Suhr has also indicated he plans to continue some of Gascón's initiatives. Under Gascón, district stations were given Internet access, and officers began filling out reports on computers. Gascón's hope was to eventually host the reports in a searchable database. However, the infrastructure for a database still does not exist, and an unintentional consequence witnessed by Suhr in the Bayview was that officers regularly left the field to fill out reports, even for minor incidents and crimes.

“You had 10 or 12 cops sitting at a computer terminal even for minor incidents. I think, especially in high-crime areas, to take that many cops off the street is a mistake,” said commissioner Jim Hammer. “I think for more serious crimes, that's a good idea. On much more minor crimes, I'd rather see an officer sit out in restaurant or coffee shop or patrol car.”

Suhr also intends to take a more visible role in officer discipline. Current rules require that when a chief imposes discipline of more than 10 days on an officer, that officer must appear before the Police Commission, giving the officer the opportunity to dispute the charges and the disciplinary action. That process has created a backlog of cases and can take months.

New rules passed at a Police Commission meeting Wednesday require an in-person meeting between the officer, a police commissioner and the chief or a designee within 15 days of charges filed. Suhr, unless he is out of town, has pledged to attend every meeting. 

“With someone like Suhr in place, I think this effectively can give the chief the chance to engage much more actively with the discipline process early on,” Hammer said. “They'll listen, they'll trust him. They know he's going to be fair. He's one of them. How are they gonna say you don't know what you're talking about?"

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Jim Hammer was running for district attorney. We regret the error.