SAN FRANCISCO — Police Chief Earl Sanders and three of his top brass have been indicted by a grand jury for their alleged involvement in a cover-up of an off-duty assault by three police officers outside a local bar, authorities said Friday.
Sanders and the others reportedly have defended the officers' role in an early-morning brawl that began when a bartender leaving work was ordered to surrender his take-home dinner -- a bag of steak fajitas.
Six others were also charged, including the three officers who allegedly instigated the street brawl and a captain, lieutenant and sergeant. One of the officers is the son of the department's No. 2 man, who also stands charged.
All the high-ranking officers apparently face allegations that they downplayed the severity of the case and conspired to obstruct justice -- a cover-up. The details of the charges will not be known until the indictments are unsealed in the days ahead.
"This is really an unprecedented situation," said City Public Defender Jeff Adachi. "I don't believe there is anywhere else in the country where you've had top [police] brass indicted like this."
All of the 10 indicted officers, except the chief, arrived by van and car at police headquarters south of Market Street on Friday afternoon to turn themselves in. The chief also was booked and released.
Late Friday, Mayor Willie Brown spoke before an emergency meeting of the city's Police Commission, imploring his appointees not to suspend Sanders and his commanders. Brown, who appointed the chief, asked the commissioners to request that the state attorney general's office conduct the disciplinary internal investigation into the actions of the command staff.
After meeting for about two hours in closed session, commissioners issued a statement saying the panel took Brown's request seriously and that, for now, Sanders remains in control of the Police Department. The commission will meet again Monday to consider the matter.
Brown's appearance before the commission was just one measure of the unusual turmoil in this city, where the mayor and Dist. Atty. Terence Hallinan, who sought the charges against the police, have engaged in a long-simmering personal feud.
