Pubdate: Tue, 25 Jul 2000
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2000 San Francisco Chronicle
Contact:  http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Forum: http://www.sfgate.com/conferences/
Author: Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer, S.F. COP FACING MISCONDUCT CHARGES - COP ALLEGEDLY BEAT UP HANDCUFFED MAN

San Francisco -- A San Francisco police officer already accused of selling
purported drugs to a police informant has been brought up on departmental
charges for allegedly beating a handcuffed man.

Officer Chris Greenman, 33, who has been on the force five years, was placed
on unpaid leave last month after he allegedly sold tablets of what he said
was the drug ecstasy to a woman in Hayward. He now faces three additional
misconduct charges for allegedly beating a man who surrendered after a
police chase Oct. 24, 1997.

The man had crashed his car into a tree on Van Ness Avenue at 2:30 a.m. and
allegedly tried to leave the scene. Another officer, Stevie Bacolot, told
him to stop and the man put his hands up, only to be struck by Bacolot with
his night stick, according to the charges.

Greenman is accused of kicking the man around the head as Bacolot handcuffed
him. With Greenman's knee on the man's back, he and Bacolot allegedly each
punched the man one to four times. A civilian who saw the incident told
investigators that the suspect did not resist.

In addition to the beating charge, Greenman is accused of failing to
document the use of force and trying to cover up the incident by lying on a
police report.

According to the charges, Greenman's report did not mention any use of
force. ``Although (the victim) resisted briefly, we were able to take (the
victim) into custody without further incident,'' the report said.

Bacolot also faces departmental charges in connection with the incident.

The accusations against Greenman and Bacolot were filed with the Police
Commission on Friday by Police Chief Fred Lau, after an investigation by the
Office of Citizen Complaints. Jim Collins, Greenman's attorney, said the
agency's long delay in completing its investigation hindered the officer's
right to defend himself.

``This is standard practice, and it's disgraceful,'' Collins said. ``It has
been three years; it is very hard to interview witnesses and figure out what
occurred.''

Despite the severity of the ultimate charges, which included accusations of
unnecessary force and two counts of neglect of duty, Greenman was allowed to
return to duty after the 1997 incident.

Greenman already faces misconduct charges stemming from his alleged sale of
tablets he claimed were ecstasy to a woman working with Hayward police. A
drug test he underwent the same day allegedly showed he had used
methamphetamine.

According to the charges, Greenman was on his way to work with the
Tenderloin Task Force when he met the woman, who had made an earlier phone
order to order ecstasy pills from Greenman. She gave him $150 in marked
bills and he gave her 10 tablets of what was purported to be ecstasy, but
was in fact not an illegal substance.

Selling drug look-alikes is a misdemeanor under state law, but Greenman has
not been arrested or charged with a crime.

Hayward police stopped Greenman as he drove on the San Mateo Bridge and
allegedly found the money in a fanny pack.

Collins said Greenman will face no criminal charges in the drug case.

``I believe we're going to win, and he's going to be exonerated at the
administrative level,'' Collins said.
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