HALLINAN CALLS ON TOUGH, VETERAN PROSECUTOR TO HANDLE SFPD CASE

He Has Reputation For Being Cool Under Fire

The San Francisco assistant district attorney who is prosecuting the
Police Department's top brass is a tough, methodical lawyer with a
quiet demeanor and quick legal mind, according to lawyers who've seen
him in action.

A native San Franciscan, Albert Murray has been a prosecutor in the
city for 32 years, handling everything from misdemeanor marijuana
cases and complicated embezzlement scams to elder abuse and murder.

"Al Murray puts in his case like a bricklayer," said Jeff Brown, who
retired as San Francisco public defender in 2001. "He's handled many
politically sensitive cases before. He can take the heat."

His past cases included a major voting fraud probe in the 1970s; a
death penalty murder case in 1979; the police misconduct case
involving the Rathskeller bar in the 1980s; and the Foxglove case, in
which several elderly men were allegedly slowly poisoned to death and
bilked for their assets in the 1990s.

But despite such high profile cases, Murray is a prosecutor who rarely
talks to the media outside of court.

"I'm not the kind of person who needs to see my name in the paper or
my face on TV," Murray said in a short interview Monday. "It's not how
I do my job."

Criminal defense lawyers described Murray as a formidable opponent who
rarely makes a mistake, even in difficult cases. They say his sharp
legal mind often keeps him several steps ahead of the defense.

"He's got a low-key professional approach," said defense attorney Tony
Tamburello, whose law partner is representing Deputy Chief Greg Suhr.
"He's worked for more than 30 years beside police officers. Murray's
working relationship with the Police Department is one of mutual
respect. He is the last person I would think would be rabidly trying
to prove the police were at fault."

Murray, born in the city more than 60 years ago, has shown his
competitive skills since he was a boy. Friends recall that Murray, a
quarterback for Sacred Heart high school, stayed in the game after
breaking his nose.

"He's the ultimate team player," said Paul Cummins, chief assistant
district attorney and a colleague for more than 25 years. "He's not
flashy, but he is lethal in the courtroom."

Murray got his bachelor's degree from St. Mary's College in Moraga and
started working for the district attorney's office not long after he
finished Golden Gate Law School.

Early in his career, Murray showed an ability to handle a variety of
cases, and he was more than happy to not specialize in any single
aspect of criminal prosecution.

"I chose Al Murray because he is a perfect person for this case," said
District Attorney Terence Hallinan. "He will be objective. He is
cautious He is respectful. He is the kind of person who has the
character this case requires."

Since becoming district attorney in 1996, Hallinan said he had used to
Murray for "difficult cases" that might not succeed under other
prosecutors.

In the Foxglove case, Murray was asked to resurrect an old
investigation in which a group of relatives allegedly swindled and
poisoned eight elderly men.

The case was full of problems. The two original police investigators
had been taken off the case for alleged wrongdoing. Several witnesses
had changed their stories. Murray obtained indictments after
presenting the case to the grand jury over a four-month period.

Parts of the indictment were later thrown out by a trial judge, but
Murray fought it every step of the way. An appeals court reinstated
the indictments last year, and the case is awaiting trial.

"Al took a very hard case and has done a great job with it," Hallinan
said.

It was Murray, primarily, who presented the case to the grand jury
that Thursday handed up indictments against 10 police officers --
including Chief Earl Sanders, assistant chief Alex Fagan Sr., and two
deputy chiefs. Murray next will take the case to trial in San
Francisco Superior Court, Hallinan said.

"I trust him with our most difficult and sensitive cases," Hallinan
said.