Potrero Hill, San Francisco

Police Capt. Rick Bruce defended himself Friday at a press conference, saying he was an unsuspecting participant in the SFPD video scandal, and asked to be exonerated from Chief Fong and Mayor Newsom.

“I’m asking the mayor of this city and the chief of police of the San Francisco Police Department to acknowledge that I had nothing to do with the production of this video,” Bruce said, adding that he has not been contacted by anyone conducting an investigation into the videos.

Bruce said the clip of him was taken from a department-approved training video shot in 2001, and “clearly was doctored.”

[Editor’s note: Captain Rick Bruce deserves to be exonerated, while at the same time recognized for his outstanding work in community policing while serving as captain of the Bayview station.

Let it not be forgotten that Bruce was responsible for introducing police substations into public housing (leading to reduced murder rates), placing direct-line cell phones with officers, waking up before dawn to work on community updates, regularly meeting with concerned neighbors, fundraising to send kids from low-income families to Disneyland, and organizing late-night basketball tournaments in the Bayview.

It’s a shame that due to the scandal he’s been asked to step down as coach of his 8th grade son’s basketball team.

Our community needs more officers like Captain Bruce, and the Mayor and Chief Fong should encourage this by exonerating him.]

Read More
• Press conference video [CBS 5]
• Captain demands apology [The Chronicle]
• High-ranking officer demands apology [The Examiner]