Lawyer Kevin Benedicto is 1st FilAm member of the S.F. Police Commission

His appointment came as the country was celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Consul General Neil Ferrer joined San Francisco city officials and community leaders in the swearing-in ceremony of Attorney Kevin Michael Benedicto as San Francisco’s first FilAm police commissioner.

The ceremony was held at the Tahanan Supportive Housing Building in San Francisco’s SOMA Pilipinas District on May 9 as the U.S. was celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.

“On behalf of the Filipino American community in San Francisco, I wish to congratulate Atty. Kevin Benedicto for becoming San Francisco’s first Filipino American Police Commissioner. His appointment to the San Francisco Police Commission (SFPC) exemplifies yet again the significant contributions of Filipino Americans in the United States. It is my hope that he inspires more FilAms to serve their communities through government service,” Ferrer said.

“The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco looks forward to working with Commissioner Benedicto in issues that are close to the Filipino American community, such as addressing anti-Asian hate incidents and other safety and security concerns,” he added.

Consul General Neil Ferrer congratulates Benedicto.

The seven-person SFPC, where Benedicto will serve a four-year-term, is the official governing body of the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD). It is tasked to set policies for the department and conduct disciplinary proceedings and hear appeals from police officers.

He 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 Gascon to weed out institutional bias in the SFPD.  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.

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

When he was an associate at Morgan Lewis, Benedicto represented clients in a variety of litigation matters, according to his bio. His areas of practice included cybersecurity and data privacy matters, securities investigations, and business and corporate disputes. He had represented clients in the cloud computing, gaming and esports, and financial technology sectors.

© The FilAm 2022



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