Former SFPD Officer Charged with Obstructing an Investigation

On Wednesday, April 27, 2016, San Francisco Police Department Internal Affairs investigators arrested former police lieutenant Curtis Liu on charges stemming from a sexual assault investigation involving an off-duty police officer (see SFPD Press Release 16-028(a) issued on March 23, 2016). Mr. Liu of San Francisco was booked at San Francisco County Jail on one count of Filing a False Police Report (felony) and two counts of Obstructing an Investigation (misdemeanors).  The booking photo was still being processed and was not available at the time of this press release. In August of 2015, the Internal Affairs Division was notified of a sexual assault allegation made against an off-duty member of the San Francisco Police Department, and investigators initiated an immediate investigation into these allegations. The investigation revealed that a second member of the Department may have engaged in conduct that interfered with the investigation. The District Attorney’s office was made aware of the investigation, and both members were placed on suspension as the investigation progressed. The SFPD Internal Affairs office worked with and provided the completed investigation to the District Attorney office. Today, an arrest warrant, authored by SFPD Internal Affairs investigators for Mr. Liu, was approved by a Superior Court Judge. Liu is accused of communicating with Lai regarding the nature of the sexual assault investigation and not notifying his superiors of Lai’s possible involvement.  Internal Affairs investigators arrested Mr. Liu and booked him into County Jail on the above mentioned charges. Mr. Liu, who has also been implicated in the current text message case, has separated from the Department. The San Francisco Police Department treats all allegations of officer misconduct seriously and will thoroughly investigate all complaints. Any officer not forthright in an investigation will themselves be the focus of an investigation.   The San Francisco Police Department thanks the District Attorney’s office for their assistance during this investigation.