[continued from previous message]   
      
   ultimately passed with an 8-3 vote.   
      
   Board President Shamann Walton opposed the idea with supervisors Hillary   
   Ronen and Dean Preston joining him in dissent.   
      
   SFPD has had the robots in its arsenal for a while, but can now use them   
   when police encounter suspects deemed a fatal threat to officers or the   
   public.   
      
   The remote-controlled robotic vehicles had been allowed for surveillance   
   or to dismantle bombs. Under the new rules, they can now be used to   
   deliver deadly force if the chief or two deputy chiefs say there’s no   
   other option.   
      
   The discussion leading up to the vote touched on themes invoked in   
   episodes of “Black Mirror.”   
      
   Ronen—who opposed the item entirely while ironically inspiring an   
   amendment that allowed it to pass—reiterated concerns over police using   
   force and raised philosophical arguments against remotely operated   
   killing.   
      
   “SFPD has killed 58 people since 2000,” Ronen said, noting how the   
   department has yet to enact reforms promised to the U.S. Department of   
   Justice. “There are so many arguments against this. […] Distance will make   
   killing easier. We don’t want that.”   
      
   Preston chided SFPD Deputy Chief David Lazar for what he called absurd   
   theoretical examples of where remotely operated force might be justified,   
   such as when a heavily armed gunman killed 60 and wounded 400 at a 2017   
   concert in Las Vegas.   
      
   “I can’t believe what I’m hearing,” Preston said. “San Francisco is   
   not a   
   war zone. […] We voted against Tasers. If SFPD can’t be trusted with   
   Tasers, they sure can’t be trusted with killer robots.”   
      
   Preston also condemned the San Francisco Police Officers Association for   
   using social media to criticize his stand on the issue.   
      
      
   Meanwhile, supervisors Rafael Mandelman, Myrna Melgar and Catherine   
   Stefani spoke in support of the amended rules, citing emotional arguments   
   by opponents and the rise of political extremism as justifying the   
   provisions.   
      
   “The hyperbole and over the top language is disappointing,” Melgar said.   
   “This isn’t taking money away from ambassadors and other measures.”   
      
   “I am in such a different place from some of my colleagues in my   
   understanding of what we’re discussing,” Mandelman said. “We’re   
   thinking   
   about far-flung and unlikely hypotheticals because Chair Peskin pressed   
   the police department to already do that in the context of a technology   
   the department has had for over a decade.”   
      
   “What bothers me about this conversation is the false narrative, the   
   rhetoric surrounding this is disingenuous and lacks context,” Stefani   
   said. “The militarization of our society has already exploded. […] There   
   were over 600 mass shootings this year.”   
      
   Standing for Human Rights in Iran   
      
   Iranian American Supervisor Ahsha Safaí’s resolution in solidarity with   
   protests in Iran and calling for an end to “human rights abuse on the   
   demonstrators in Iran and the immediate release of political prisoners in   
   Iran” passed unanimously.   
      
   The resolution condemns the Islamic Republic’s crackdown on protests   
   across the country as well as the death of activist Mahsa Amini.   
      
   While the nonbinding resolution isn’t likely to influence Iran’s action,   
   the human rights situation in the country has captured the imagination of   
   Bay Area residents, who have held multiple demonstrations across the city.   
      
   Recognizing Gender Expression—Finally   
   Gender expression is now expressly protected under the city’s laws against   
   discrimination.   
      
   The goal of the revised language is to make “the definitions of gender   
   identity/sex/orientation to be less binary and more inclusive,” according   
   to staff from Mandelman’s office, which sponsored the changes.   
      
   Existing definitions, according to the legislative digest, were “based on   
   a limited understanding of the spectrum of identities, which has evolved.”   
      
   More Anti-Corruption Measures   
   Preston lost one on killer robots but prevailed on another of his oft-   
   mentioned issues: fighting corruption. He suggested, and his colleagues   
   agreed, to have the Budget and Legislative Analyst conduct two additional   
   audits.   
      
   One involves purchasing and contracting in city agencies, such as the   
   Department of Public Works, which can approve contracts worth more than   
   what normally requires board approval. Another audit will examine   
   conflicts of interest at city agencies.   
      
   Preston, who chairs the board’s Government Audit and Oversight Committee,   
   described the audits as a way to be “more proactive” in tackling   
   corruption.   
      
   Roll Call, and a Possible Elections Department Solution?   
      
   Last week, the Elections Commission decided to basically fire longtime and   
   well-regarded Elections Department director John Arntz. Peskin and other   
   elected officials have urged the commission to renew Arntz’s contract when   
   it’s up next April. And he made clear that no one on the board wants to   
   fund a search for his replacement.   
      
   Commissioners said inviting others to compete with Arntz for his job hews   
   to the city’s Racial Equity Plan by giving a more diverse pool of   
   candidates a shot. But many speculated that the decision had more to do   
   with politics around “open source voting,” a system that has yet to be   
   approved by the California Secretary of State. Supporters of the open-   
   source scheme showed up Tuesday to back the commission’s stance.   
      
   At Roll Call, Peskin hinted at a different sort of resolution. Describing   
   recent communications between the board and Elections Commission as   
   productive, he pledged fund a search for a new direction—in five years’   
   time.   
      
   Another Roll Call resolution came from Supervisor Connie Chan calling on   
   the city to support victims of gun violence by allowing them to sue   
   weapons manufacturers, which they can now do under a law passed in   
   Sacramento earlier this year.   
      
   And in a follow-up to his hearing on the Baker Places nonprofit double-   
   dipping scandal, Safaí is sending a letter of inquiry to the Ethics   
   Commission, Department of Human Resources and Department of Public Health   
   asking for a closer look at some 22 other DPH employees with arrangements   
   similar to those of Jail Health Services Director Lisa Pratt.   
      
   Pratt resigned from her job at Baker Places after The Standard revealed   
   her dual employment, which violated rules against working second jobs on   
   city time.   
      
   Mike Ege can be reached at ege@sfstandard.com   
      
      
      
      
      
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