SFPD sergeant loses badge over misuse
of department data

By Brent Begin, Bay City News Service

April 12, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) - A San Francisco police sergeant will be required to turn in his
badge for good following a settlement Tuesday in which he pleaded guilty to one of 40 counts of misusing department data.

The deal means Andre Fontenot, who joined the department in September 1989, will have to resign from the San Francisco Police Department, serve three years of probation and perform 200 hours of community service.

The district attorney's office agreed to drop the remaining 39 felony counts.

In January 2005, police Chief Heather Fong filed administrative charges against Fontenot with the San Francisco Police Commission.

According to charging documents in the commission case, Fontenot is suspected of making 129 "random queries" to databases when he was assigned to the Southern Station as a patrol supervisor.

An anonymous complaint led to an investigation that showed Fontenot allegedly sought information about 116 women and 13 men during that time.

"There were no documented stops or other enforcement action of any kind" following the queries, according to department documents. "There was no enforcement action even when the returned records indicated invalid licenses or suspended driving privileges."

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