CENTRAL DISTRICT NEWSLETTER
If you don’t report the crime—it never happened!
Captain’s Message
This past Saturday, February 27, 2010, we celebrated in the district with the Chinese New Year Parade, the Year of the Tiger. It was a beautiful display of Chinese customs and heritage. Chief Gascon, many members of the command staff and officers marched in the parade. I would like to thank all the members of the police department who participated and those assigned to work for being part of this annual event. Thank you also to all the members of the Chinese community who helped organize the parade. This event is a great example of partnerships at work.
On Monday, March 1, 2010, Assistant Chief Cashman, Captain Barrett of Park Station, Captain Celaya of Tenderloin Station and I spoke in support of a “Sit-Lie” ordinance before the Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee, each outlining how this ordinance would improve the quality of life for our communities by allowing police to move along those who block sidewalks. Community members also spoke, some in support of the ordinance, and others opposed to it. Let
your supervisor know how you feel about such an ordinance.
This Wednesday, March 3, 2010, we will partner with our Traffic Division, SF SAFE and the Department of Public Health to kick off a pedestrian safety campaign. The safety campaign will focus on pedestrian safety on Stockton between Vallejo and Sacramento, an area that is highly congested, both with people and vehicles. We will be passing out flyers in English and Chinese, as well as inviting the local media to cover the event in both languages. Yielding the right of way to pedestrians and not walking against red lights will result in less pedestrian injuries and accidents. This educational component will be followed by enforcement in the following days and weeks, so please pass the word. There will be a press conference in front of Central Station at 945 am, Wednesday, March 3, 2010.
Our MUNI Operations continue in the district as well, both in uniform and in plainclothes. Please refrain from using electronic items while riding MUNI, waiting for MUNI, or while walking down the street. Inattention to your surroundings makes you a ideal candidate to be a victim of a “snatch and run”, or even worst, a robbery resulting in injuries. IPod, IPhones, and similar items are choice items to steal so please be aware of your surroundings. Last week, as I noted in the crimes of note, we had three such crimes. Fortunately, in two of the three incidents, suspects were apprehended. This week we also had our share of robberies, so be alert and try not to walk alone, especially at night.
Burglaries were up slightly this month. Please secure your homes, consider installing alarms, use automatic light sensors, automatic timers, have the postal service hold mail if you will be gone for some time, stop newspaper service or have a neighbor pick it up, take photos of jewelry or expensive items and put those photos in a secure place or safe deposit box, itemize large electronics with model and serial numbers and engrave items, if possible. Some insurance
policies have a limit on certain items or exclude items so make sure you know your coverage.
Change of Date: The Entertainment Commission administrative hearing date to determine action against Club Suede has been changed from Friday, March 5, 2010 at 5pm, Room 406, City Hall to Wednesday, March 31, 2010, same time and place. Club Suede owners will keep the club closed until after the hearing. Please attend if you can. For more information you may contact the Entertainment Commission Secretary, City Hall Room 453 at 415-554-6678.
As you may have read or heard via the media, Chief Gascon is pushing to equip all officers with the Conducted Energy Device (CED), more commonly known by brand name Taser. In order to educate the public on the potential use and equipping of CED’s and to answer questions, the Community Relations Unit will be hosting a series of community meetings on the device. Please try to attend.
The meetings are scheduled as follows:
• Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 5:30 p.m. @ the Mission Police Station Community Room.
• Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 5:30 p.m. @ the Bayview Police Station Community Room.
• Thursday, March 18, 2010, 5:30 p.m. @ Northern Police Station Community Room, and
• Tuesday, March 23, 2010, 5:30 p.m. @ the Ingleside Police Station Community Room.
Anyone having additional questions or concerns can write to the Community Relations Unit @ SFPDcommunityrelations@sfgov.org, or call their office at (415) 734-3280.
Director Jackson Gee of the District Attorney’s Office Community Courts is looking for citizens interested in serving as a Community Court panelist. Mr. Gee states, “Community Court is a restorative justice program that addresses misdemeanor crimes which occur in your neighborhood. As a panelist, you have a unique opportunity to hear offenses that impact your quality of life, determine its consequences, and figure out how best to resolve it using
meaningful sanctions. Use your neighborhood wisdom to solve neighborhood problems. Make your neighborhood better – get involved today! For more information, please contact the District
Attorney’s Office, Jackson Gee, 575-6328 or Jackson.gee@sfgov.org.”
Monthly Community Meeting
Our next community meeting will be on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 630 pm at Tel-Hi Community Center. Our guest speaker on March 18th will be Bob Rosborough from the Community Boards who will speak about their neighborhood mediation program. In the last few months that I have been in the district, only a handful of people have been showing up. If there is a topic of interest, please let me know and I will get someone to come speak. This meeting is an opportunity to hear what is going on in the district and for your to provide feedback to me as well. I encourage all the community’s participation.
Central Station Community Advisory Board met this past Wednesday, February 24, 2010. Our Department graffiti officer, Officer Christopher Putz, was on hand and provided a brief overview on graffiti. I want to thank Officer Putz for taking time out of his busy schedule to speak to the Advisory Board. The board sub-committee members then provided a brief overview of their work and research on entertainment venues, prostitution, graffiti and safety and security.
CompStat
The next Metro Compstat meeting will be on March 3, 2010, 10 am at the Scottish Rite Auditorium, 19th and Sloat. All are welcome. (Central Station is part of Metro Division).
Broadway Corridor
Friday, February 26, 2010
Felony Arrests 2
Misdemeanor Arrests 1
Drunk Related Arrests 0
Moving Citations 7
Parking Citations 28
Vehicles Towed 11
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Felony Arrests 0
Misdemeanor Arrests 2
Drunk Related Arrests 2
Moving Citations 4
Parking Citations 15
Vehicles Towed 12
b>Crimes of Note
February 23, 2010 1915 hours (reported 02/26/10), 700 block of Kearny, victim left her hotel and when she returned she found that her IPod, Tiffany box with jewelry was missing but there did not appear to be any forced entry. Security stated that there were 12 other incidents throughout the hotel and they believe they know who the suspects are. Station inspectors are following up on this case.
February 23, 2010, 1425 hours, 700 block of Washington Street, an alert citizen called police regarding an act of vandalism that he had observed. Officer Payne responded and the citizen told him that he observed an individual graffiti the doorway of a vacant building and he pointed that individual out to Officer Payne. The suspect then started to walk away as Officer Payne approached him. He refused to stop as ordered and the suspect began running. Officer Payne was able to catch up with him and stopped and detained him at California and Kearny Streets. The citizen positively identified the suspect as the one who had vandalized the wall. He was placed under arrest and transported to the station. During the booking search, a red marker was found in the suspect’s backpack and the suspect then stated that he discarded the blue marker that he had used on the doorway as he was running from the scene.
February 24, 2010, 1749 hours, 400 block of California, subject walked into a bank and tried to cash a fraudulent check using counterfeit identification. The subject was placed under arrest by Officer Godfrey. During the booking search, Officers Fahey and Costello found other miscellaneous cards in his possession that did not belong to him. The subject had a prior San Francisco arrest history.
February 24, 2010, 0011 hours, Bay and Stockton Streets, Officer Doherty observed an individual crossing the street against a red light. The subject was detained and a computer check revealed he had three outstanding warrants from Santa Cruz County. He was booked on the warrants and cited for walking against the red light.
February 25, 2010, 1315 hours, 30 Stockton Muni Line, while riding the bus and playing with his I-Touch, an unknown white male suspect grabbed the I-Touch and ran off the bus. This occurred near the Union Square area.
February 25, 2010, 2235 hours, on Trenton Place at Washington Street, Officers Randolph and Cole were dispatched to Chinese Hospital regarding a victim of a battery. Victim stated that he was walking in Trenton Place alley when he was approached by three unknown African American males who demanded his money and phone. Victim told the suspects that his phone had a tracking chip in it and they gave him back his phone, taking his money. One of the suspects then hit him, with an unknown object, knocking the victim to the ground. He lost consciousness and woke up two hours later. The victim required stitches to his lip and jaw.
February 25, 2010, 2328 hours, Sutter near Grant Avenue, Officer Yu responded to an accident. Party #1(driver) was making a turn on to Sutter from Grant, on a green light when Party #2 (pedestrian) “came out of no where”, causing Party #1 to hit the pedestrian who was crossing in the crosswalk. 21950(a) of the California Vehicle Code states, “The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection…” So, be alert and watch and yield to pedestrians, even those that ‘come out of no where’.
February 25, 2010, 2351 hours, 1300 block of Stockton Street, Officers Randolph and Cole responded to vandalism that just occurred and found a suspect with blue paint all over his hands. The officers found the spray can hanging out of the suspect’s sweatshirt and a marker in his pants pocket. The graffiti damage matched three different properties in the same area. The suspect was caught “blue handed”.
February 26, 2010, 2341 hours, Washington near Stockton Street, Officers Sullivan, Murphy, Jones, and McMilton affected a traffic stop and found narcotics and a suspended license on three suspects in the vehicle. One suspect was booked and one cited.
February 27, 2010, 0330 hours, Washington St near Larkin St, Officers Sullivan and Murphy were working the plain clothes detail when a suspect approached them with drugs to buy. The suspect was also booked for a local warrant.
February 27, 2010, 1756 hours, 200 block of Grant Avenue, Officer Discenza responded to a clothing store on reports of a shoplifter in the custody of their loss prevention agent. The shoplifter entered the store with an empty shopping bag, attempted to pay for a few items and did not have the proper identification. She then attempted to leave with the concealed merchandise when she was stopped by the agent. She was booked accordingly.
February 27, 2010, 0245 hours, 300 block of Broadway, Officers Randolph, Cole, Lam and Yu responded to a call at Broadway and Montgomery of a physical fight. The owner of the nightclub stated that he saw a group of males and females fighting and that someone had received a laceration during the altercation. The victim was able to identify the one suspect who kicked her in the head and another who stabbed her in the neck. The victim and two suspects were all females; two were employees of the nightclub.
February 28, 2010, 1443 hours, 600 block of Sutter Street, at a fast food restaurant, the victim was occupied by a young gentleman questioning her about her boots she was wearing; unbeknownst to her, her Iphone was being taken. She should have suspected that something was amiss when he wanted to buy a pair of women’s boots for himself.
February 28, 2010, midnight, 400 block Broadway Street Officers Discenza and Yuen were on foot patrol on the Broadway Corridor when they were alerted by security at a nightclub. A shirt less white male got into a fighting stance with the officers. The officers noticed that the suspect had blood shot eyes and was sweating profusely. The suspect resisted arrest and a group of people surrounded the officers. Many people did not comply with the officers orders of moving back, away from the incident. Another white male incited the crowd. One suspect was booked and the other detained and found to be on probation.
February 28, 2010, 0232, Kearny Street and Sutter Street, the victim was waiting for his ride when two Asian males walked by and insulted him because of his attire. A verbal altercation ensued and the victim was punched resulting in a laceration to his chin. The two suspects ran away through the Stockton Street tunnel.
February 28, 2010, 0250, Officers August and Eastland responded to a robbery with a gun. Two victims were stopped by a white male asking for their wallets. He pointed a black semi automatic handgun at them. The victims complied. No injuries.
February 28, 2010, 1453 hours, Maiden Lane, Officer Cunnane responded to a call for service from an outdoor café. Patrons fled the area, after a metal ceiling fan narrowly missed an elderly patron dining at an outside table. The patrons believed they were being attacked. The reportee and the clothier next door stated that this happens on a regular basis, as the tenants of a nearby hotel habitually throw all types of objects from their windows onto the streets below. These objects would cause serious injury or death if they strike someone.
March 1, 2010, 0315 hours, 300 block of Bay Street, Officers Murphy, Randolph and Nazzal responded to Patrol Special Burns and he stated that nightclub with the voluntary 30 day closure had been victim to vandalism. The front glass entry way door was broken.
March 1, 2010, 1430, Central Station, the victim walked into the police station and told us that she was robbed by a tall black man. The victim stated on Sunday she was walking on Sansome Street, she was approached by the subject and he just had his vehicle towed. He asked her for $2 bus fare, which she gave him. The victim tried to leave, but the suspect asked for everything in her wallet. She gave him her last $8. Then the suspect demanded he go to the ATM with her. The victim was scared and complied. She withdrew her last $60 to appease the suspect. The suspect told her she had to go with him to the Greyhound bus depot. The victim then ran away from the suspect. The victim saw the suspect later in the day, in an alley way counting money. Enroute to the police station, the victim spoke to another woman and the woman told the victim a very similar incident happened to her recently.
March 1, 2010, 1539 hours, 800 block of Stockton Street, a repeated strong armed robber pick pocketed a victim on the crowded Muni bus. A retired SF DA investigator identified the suspect for she had arrested him over thirty times while working the pick pocketing detail before. The retired investigator saw the suspect push the victim to the ground and the suspect took off running. Central Station inspectors and officers will continue to look for this repeat offender.
March 1, 2010, 1927 hours, Clay St. and Davis St., Officers Carew and Shanahan report an Iphone robbery. The victim stated she was waiting at the bus stop when an Asian man, grabbed her Iphone out of her hand. The victim struggled back and forth with the suspect. The suspect fled with the Iphone. A witness saw the victim chasing the suspect through the Embarcadero Center.
March 2, 2010, 0223 hours, California St. and Hyde St., Officers Sullivan and Murphy spotted two suspects in close proximity, possibly in a drug buy. When stopped and questioned, one suspect was on probation and the other had drug paraphernalia on him. White rocks, hypodermic needles, a bag of white powder, and a black rock (suspected heroin) were all found on the persons. The two were booked at the County Jail.
March 2, 2010, 0054 hours, Grant Ave. and Geary St., Officers Lam, Yu, Sullivan, and Murphy responded to a vandalism report to multiple stores. The reportee pointed out two suspects who he positively identified both as the ones who vandalized eleven windows of multiple store fronts by etching graffiti in the glass. Both were booked at the County Jail.
Thank you to all our community members that help us in fighting crime.
Take advantage of information that is available on the sfgov website.
If you go to www.sfgov.org/police , there is information on press releases, crime data, and much more. You can also watch the weekly Police Commission meetings that take place every Wednesday night at 5pm on sfgtv, which can be accessed through the sfgov website.
Text a Tip-
Community Policing is successful only when the community is actively involved and engaged in crime prevention in their neighborhoods. Calls to police may be made in a variety of ways, some anonymously. You can call to report a crime, or even text through a mobile phone. Here’s how: Text to: 847411, type your message starting with SFPD (space) … then send. You will receive a response within second Or, if you prefer, call: 575-4444 or at Central’s tip line: 392-2623.