The Asian community strongly wishes interim Police Chief Paul Yep to permanently lead the San Francisco Police Department

SAN FRANCISCO — Members of the Asian and Chinese community all agree that the incoming Interim Police Chief Paul Yep is one of the best police leaders in the history of the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD). While they applauded Mayor Daniel Lurie's announcement, they have been taking a step further to support Yep as the next permanent Police Chief.

Lurie appointed his Chief of Public safety and retired Police Commander Yep to serve as the Interim Police Chief when outgoing Police Chief Bill Scott announced his departure from the SFPD to be effective on June 22. Scott will assume his new role as Los Angeles Metro’s first-ever Chief of Police and Emergency Management on June 23.

In the press conference for the related announcements, Lurie praised Yep as the right person to lead the SFPD through transition. According to the City's Charter, the 7-members Police Commission will search for the new Police Chief and recommend three names to Lurie for final selection.

"As we look for the SFPD’s next leader, we are proud to announce that Paul Yep will serve as Interim Police Chief," said Lurie. "Since January, he has served as our Public Safety Chief in City Hall, leading cross-agency strategies to tackle some of our toughest challenges—including open-air drug markets."

"As a Chinatown native and a graduate of Lowell High School and San Francisco State University, Paul Yep knows this city. He knows the department. And he has dedicated his entire career to keeping San Franciscans safe," said Lurie.

But Yep indicated in the press conference that he would not be a candidate for the permanent position at the SFPD. "I have served in the department for 28 years, and I’ve had the pleasure to work in City Hall since January. I’m honored that Mayor Lurie has offered me this opportunity, and I am 100% committed to keeping this department on the right track and serving as a bridge to the next Chief," said Yep.

"Throughout my own 28 years in the Police Department, I’ve always worked to build bridges between law enforcement and our communities. I grew up in this city, and my north star has always been the safety of our neighborhoods," said Yep. "That remains true as I step into this role."

Yep looked back at the past four months working alongside Lurie on public safety since January 2025. "I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with Mayor Lurie as his Chief of Public Safety—breaking down silos, focusing on results, and holding our teams accountable. That’s exactly the spirit I will bring to the department.," said Yep. "We are making real progress."

"Under Mayor Lurie’s leadership and in partnership with SFPD, we have launched new strategies to make that progress possible, and we are later focused on delivering outcomes on public safety that residents can see and feel," Yep continued. "We are also being creative with our limited personnel and utilizing technology responsibly to solve crimes and arrest perpetrators."

To the officers of the SFPD, Yep said, "I know the challenges you face and the sacrifices you make. I will have your back, and I will expect the highest standards in return. We will lead with purpose, discipline, and a deep respect for the people we serve."

Yep said he expected the process of selecting a permanent police chief would take from 6 months to a year. His role would only be for transition. He thanked for all the support from communities and confirmed he would not submit his application for the position.

Scott has been in command of the SFPD for more than 8 years, the longest serving Police Chief in the history of San Francisco. When Scott was appointed by late Mayor Ed Lee in 2016, the African American community was critical of the SFPD for its rising police shootings hurting and killing mostly people of color. During that time, the City entered a Collaborative Reform Initiative with the U.S. Department of Justice to reform the SFPD with 272 recommendations in place.

The California Department of Justice took over the reform effort working with the City when the first Trump administration pulled out of the initiative. Early this year in 2025, the California Department of Justice concluded that the SFPD has been in substantial compliance with the recommended 272 reform policies.

However, in the campaign days in 2024, two mayoral candidates, Mark Farrell and Ahsha Safai, publicly stated that they would fire Chief Scott on Day 1 if they were elected as mayor due to violent crimes and open-air drug market situations in San Francisco.

The Asian community has been in a strong desire for a new police chief who could find more solutions to combat the anti-Asian hate and violent incidents in which the vast majority of victims were Asian women and seniors for over a decade .

Members of the Asian community who have known Yep directly and indirectly have full confidence in Yep to lead the future SFPD with effective ideas and solutions based on their past experiences working with him as the commanding officer at three police stations, Richmond, Central, and Northern Stations.

Scott served at the Los Angeles Police Department for 28 years up to the rank of Deputy Chief before he took over the leadership at the SFPD in January 2017. At that time violence against Chinese and Asian seniors in street robberies and home invasions had been occurring in Asian neighborhoods like Visitacion Valley, Portola, Bayview, Excelsior, Outer Mission and Sunset.

Once it entered the COVID pandemic in 2020, the hate and violence against members of Asian and Chinese community had escalated to record high numbers from 2020 to 2023. Many of those cases were unprovoked, not only in street robberies or home invasions.

One of those serious unprovoked anti-Asian violent incidents occurred in the morning of July 21, 2023. An 88-year-old monolingual Chinese immigrant woman victim, who walked back to her senior housing apartment after shopping at Trader Joe's market in the Union Square area carrying a bag of avocados in one hand and holding her cane in the other hand, was vigorously kicked and thrown to the ground by a suspect. The victim was critically injured with massive internal bleeding in the blow.

Scott and the SFPD did not release any information on the above unprovoked attack. The case was first reported by Wind Newspaper and later widely followed by other news media.

Within the Asian community, the sentiment to call for a new police chief was even stronger when the SFPD failed to investigate a death incident in which 63-year-old Chinese immigrant woman Yan Fang Wu was pushed to the ground on Third Street in Bayview on July 3, 2023 by 43-year-old African American woman suspect Thea Hopkins. Hopkins was released immediately after the interview where members of the SFPD Investigation Bureau and the San Francisco District Attorney's Office concluded that the incident was an accidental death and closed the case.

The Asian community has been outraged by the decisions made by both Scott and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins since July 2023.

Hopkins was not arrested until 8 months later in March 2024 after she brutally attacked another monolingual Chinese immigrant woman to the ground also in Bayview on March 4, 2024. The 71-year-old victim told Wind Newspaper that she was lucky to survive in the incident where she was repeatedly beaten and yelled at by Hopkins in English that she could not understand until she lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

After the second attack in March 2024, Asian Justice Movement demanded Scott to reopen the Wu case for investigation and release related surveillance camera footage. The result of the second phase investigation was not released until December 2024. SFDA Jenkins announced that only one count of assault and one count of battery were filed against Hopkins. The Asian community was outraged and demanded justice again for both cases.

It is time for the city to have a Police Chief who is from the rank and file of the SFPD and from the community to know all communities in the city, in particular members of the Asian and Chinese community who have commonly suffered as victims of anti-Asian hate and violence prior to and after the pandemic, leaders of the Asian community say.

For three decades, Yep has always been seen as a well-regarded police leader by members of the community and SFPD. Yep was the President of San Francisco Asian Peace Officers Association (SFAPOA) for years until 2016 when he was promoted to the rank of Captain and assigned to head the Richmond Police Station.

When Yep served as the Central Station Captain in 2017 to 2018, Yep assigned most foot beat officers up to 9 to patrol Chinatown area. He also created a Sergeant position within Central Station to oversee Chinatown.

Sergeant Culbert Chu, who has served as the supervisory officer for Chinatown up to the present since Yep created that position, is also the current President of the SFAPOA. "We are all very proud of Paul," Chu said.

"The SFAPOA congratulates Chief Paul Yep on his incredible professional career achievement in being named the SFPD's Chief of Police," Chu said. "The membership and board are proud to see a long time SFAPOA member, as well as a native son of San Francisco, put in decades of blood, sweat, and tears into this City and this police department, and having his abilities and talents recognized by Mayor Lurie to be appointed as the third Asian police chief in SFPD history."

"The vast majority of the SFPD were not members of the department when Fred Lau and Heather Fong were the Chiefs of Police in the late 90s and mid 2000's, so for most of the officers of this modern SFPD with less than 10 years experience, this will be the first Asian police chief they will be serving under," Chu said he looked forward to working with Yep in achieving the goals of the SFAPOA and to supporting him in any way possible.

Visitacion Valley community leader Marlene Tran has worked with SFPD to reduce crime for decades. She wanted to see Yep continue his leadership at the SFPD beyond the role of interim Police Chief.

"When we heard that Chief Scott was leaving, we had hoped that Paul Yep would be the best choice since he was formerly a commanding officer of three major police stations as well as in the Staff Services Division," Tran commended Lurie for his choice of interim Police Chief. "Given his years of dedicated services, we really hope Paul will reconsider and apply for this top position. His extensive law enforcement experience and leadership qualities will certainly benefit SFPD and our City."

Portola community leader Hazel Lee was excited to hear Yep to head the SFPD. Before and after the COVID pandemic, a large number of residents in Portola were victims of violent crime including street robberies, home invasions and shootings. Lee has worked hard for years demanding Chinese speaking foot beat officers patrolling the San Bruno Avenue corridor.

"Paul is the best candidate as the Chief in SFPD for all communities. In addition to his extensive experience and outstanding performance in all positions at SFPD, most importantly he has heart and commitment to serve all communities. We look forward to working with Yep at SFPD for longer than 6 months or a year." said Lee.

Robert Chiang, a Chinatown leader at Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association and Chinese Chamber of Commerce, has full confidence in Yep to succeed as the permanent Police Chief at the SFPD.

"For all these years, Yep has never left Chinatown before and after his retirement from the SFPD. When we shared with him on any issues, he would work hard to find solutions. He is the kind of capable, outstanding, community-minded police leader we need in the City to lead our police department for the next century and the global community," said Chiang.