Decision Expected on Prosecution of San Francisco Police Chief, Top Aides

SAN FRANCISCO — This city, which has been torn by a scandal that has put the police department’s top command staff under indictment, is waiting to hear today whether Dist. Atty. Terence Hallinan will retreat.

Late last month, a grand jury indicted Police Chief Earl Sanders and several top deputies, charging them with conspiracy to cover up a brawl that involved three off-duty officers, including the son of the assistant chief.

Hallinan initially stood behind the indictments, then suggested Friday that he might drop the charges after reviewing the evidence over the weekend.

Mayor Willie Brown and several defense attorneys predict that Hallinan will drop the charges.

If he chooses to, the first opportunity would be a hearing scheduled for today.

Defense attorneys on Monday were also preparing motions for dismissal of the conspiracy charges against the officers.

Hallinan opened the door to a dismissal on Friday when he told The Times that he would not move forward if a review of grand jury transcripts showed there was insufficient evidence to win a conviction.

The district attorney spent the weekend and Monday reading 1,300 pages of transcripts, reviewing other evidence and consulting aides and outside confidants.

A spokesman said Monday that Hallinan had spent the weekend with nine volumes of grand jury transcripts and had been out of the office all day Monday.

“The purpose of this weekend for him was to get away from the advice he was getting from the four corners of the world and to sit down and make up his own mind about the real strengths and weaknesses of this case,” spokesman Mark MacNamara said.

He said the district attorney had paid particular attention to portions of the grand jury testimony that he did not personally witness.

That includes at least part of statements given by Deputy Chief David Robinson and Lt. Joe Dutto, who supervised the department’s investigation of the brawl, which allegedly began when three officers fought with two civilians after challenging them over a bag of takeout food.

Robinson and Dutto are key players in the conspiracy case, according to the indictment and the police department’s 500-page report of the brawl investigation, which was reviewed by The Times.

In the indictment, one of the acts the grand jury cited as part of a conspiracy was Robinson’s decision to place “on hold” Dutto’s request for internal police communications and other evidence.

The two had a tense exchange Dec. 4 when Dutto refused to give up the original investigative file for Robinson’s review, according to the police report reviewed by The Times.

And Robinson told Dutto to interview police officers thereafter only in writing -- another one of the acts cited in the indictments.

Dutto’s transfer several weeks later also was listed in the conspiracy indictment against Sanders and the top officers.

If Hallinan dismisses the charges but continues the investigation, Mayor Brown said Sunday, the indicted command officers would be left in legal limbo, without an opportunity to clear their names.

But John Burris, an attorney representing Chief Sanders, said Monday that even “if he dismisses and the chief returns to work -- to me, that is a win for the chief.”

Sanders took a medical leave last week after his Feb. 27 indictment.

Six other supervisors agreed to step down temporarily without pay. All pleaded not guilty last week.

On Monday, rank-and-file police officers were eager for Hallinan to dismiss the charges “so we can get on with business of working to rebuild our good name in the police department,” said Chris Cunnie, president of the local police union.

Calling the mood at police headquarters “somber, “ he said, “People are down.”