First Fil-Am on San Francisco Police Commission sworn in

Atty. Kevin Michael Benedicto takes his oath as the first Filipino American Police Commissioner of San Francisco, in a community ceremony at the Tahanan Supportive Housing Building in San Francisco’s SOMA Pilipinas Filipino Cultural Heritage District on May 9.. (AL PEREZ)

SAN FRANCISCO – Lawyer Kevin Michael Benedicto was sworn in May 9 as the first Filipino American member of the San Francisco Police Commission.

Benedicto’s swearing-in ceremony was at the Tahanan Supportive Housing Building in San Francisco’s SOMA Pilipinas District, as the U.S. celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.

Benedicto will serve a four-year-term on the seven-person San Francisco Police Commission, the official governing body of the San Francisco Police Department. It sets policy for the Department, conducts disciplinary proceedings and hear appeals from police officers.

Philippine Consul General Neil Ferrer joined San Francisco city officials and community leaders in congratulating Benedicto. “His appointment to the San Francisco Police Commission exemplifies yet again the significant contributions of Filipino Americans in the United States,” Ferrer said.

Lawyer Kevin Michael Benedicto was sworn in May 9 as the first Filipino American member of the San Francisco Police Commission. SCREENSHOT

Benedicto earned his Juris Doctor degree at the University of Virginia in 2015. He served as pro bono counsel for a panel created under then-San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón to weed out institutional bias in the San Francisco Police Department.

He was also part of a team that revised San Francisco’s landmark use-of-force policy, which prevents police officers from shooting at moving vehicles and using the carotid restraint.

Benedicto received the 2021 Award of Merit from the Bar Association of San Francisco for his work on police reform and pro bono representation for low-income businesses in the city’s Chinatown neighborhood.