Alfred Nelder, 86; Served San Francisco for Half a Century

Alfred Nelder, 86, who served San Francisco for more than 50 years in various jobs, including police chief and supervisor, died Wednesday at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco of complications from kidney disease.

Born in San Francisco, Nelder became a police officer in his hometown in 1942. He rose from patrolman to homicide detective, solving some of the city’s most notorious crimes. After 12 years as assistant chief, Nelder was named chief of police in 1970 by then-Mayor Joseph Alioto. He served for 19 months, deciding to step down because he thought the Police Commission was unfriendly.

As chief, Nelder created the first foreign language courses for officers to reach out to non-English speakers and introduced computers into the force. He also favored community policing, assigning more officers to street duty.

In 1973, Nelder ran for the Board of Supervisors and served two terms. In 1980, he was named to the Police Commission, where he served for nine years.