Inquiry into Oakland officer cited in IHOP gun case in S.F.

The Oakland Police Department has launched an internal investigation into the arrest of an off-duty police officer who is accused of flashing a gun at a server at a San Francisco restaurant last weekend, officials said.

Officer Kevin Kelly, 24, was cited by San Francisco police and released for allegedly showing a gun to a server in an attempt to impress her about 2:40 a.m. Sunday at the 24-hour IHOP Restaurant at 2299 Lombard St. in the city's Marina district.

"Apparently, a young lady he was talking to, it appeared that he was trying to impress her by letting her know he was a police officer," said San Francisco police Sgt. Eric O'Neal, a department spokesman. "He brandished a gun. He briefly pointed it in her direction, and he pointed the weapon in an upward position, pointing it at the ceiling of the restaurant. That caused the young lady some concern, enough to call SFPD officers."

Kelly, a Marine Corps veteran, told officers that he had been drinking Saturday night. "It was unknown what level of consumption the off-duty officer had," O'Neal said.

San Francisco police seized Kelly's gun, which was not issued by Oakland police, as evidence, O'Neal said.

Kelly's attorney, Harry Stern, said Friday, "Based on the facts that I know, it sounds like a youthful indiscretion. I don't see how, under any stretch of the imagination, the crime of brandishing has been committed, which requires the weapon to be displayed in an angry, threatening manner."

In a statement released to The Chronicle, Oakland police said the department "takes all allegations of misconduct involving our employees seriously. Ensuring internal investigations are swift, fair and objective is our priority. We are conducting a thorough investigation into this incident, focused on discovering all pertinent facts and circumstances."

Kelly is on paid administrative leave, said Officer Johnna Watson, an Oakland police spokeswoman, pending investigations by San Francisco police and Oakland police internal affairs.

Kelly is one of 38 officers who graduated in March from the department's first academy in four years. Kelly's father, Jim Kelly, is a retired San Francisco police inspector who pinned his son's badge at a ceremony at the Scottish Rite Temple near Oakland's Lake Merritt.