Month: March 2016

The State of Policing in America (MSNBC)

Most of us get up in the morning, go about our days and never think about our local law enforcement officers, unless we hear another negative story on the news. There is a perception that there are a lot of bad cops out there.  However the reality is that 99.1% of Law Enforcement officers are NOT accused of any misconduct of any kind.

MSNBC

In 2015, 965 civilians were fatally shot by officers, this kind of situation gets the media’s attention, understandably. However, it is important to realize that the media is reporting on less than 1% of all law enforcement interactions in a given year. What about the 99.1% of law enforcement interactions that take place without incident?  We don’t hear about those, so let’s look at some interesting statistics.

There are 698,000 law enforcement officers across the country.  Those 698,000 officers have approximately 62 million interactions with civilians in a given year.  Out of 62 million interactions, less than 1% of all civilian interaction with law enforcement has a negative outcome. How many of us can say that we make a mistake or have a negative outcome at work less than 1% of the time?

MSNBC Chief Legal Correspondent Ari Melber on “Morning Joe” on 1/18/16

San Francisco Deputy Sheriff stops Robbery Attempt near City Hall

In June of 2015, an attempted robbery was thwarted by a quick-acting San Francisco Sr. Deputy Sheriff V. Chew when he observed a subject fleeing and others giving chase several blocks from the scene of a robbery.

The robbery, unbeknownst to Sr. Deputy Chew, originated outside the Civic Center headquarters of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Sr. Deputy Chew, who was driving in an unmarked vehicle, was able to catch up to and detain the subject. Kudos to Sr. Deputy Chew!

The San Francisco Sheriff’s Department (SFSD), officially the City and County of San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, is the sheriff’s department for the City and County of San Francisco. The department has 850 deputized personnel, and support staff.

The primary function of the SFSD is to operate the system of county jails where there is an average population of 1,200 inmates, and a number of individuals on supervised release programs.

The SFSD also provides law enforcement and security services in the following locations in San Francisco:

  • the civil and criminal courts
  • City Hall
  • the Emergency Communications & Dispatch center
  • Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Laguna Honda Hospital, the Public Utilities Commission, the MTA  and several public health clinics

The current sheriff is Vicki Hennessy, the first female sheriff in the city-county (and the second in the nine-county Bay Area, after Virginia Clark of nearby Santa Clara County, as well as the fifth female sheriff in California, joining Margaret Mims [Fresno County], Laurie Craig [Glenn County] and Sandra Hutchens [Orange County]).

The SFSD is a separate organization from the San Francisco Police Department. However, SFSD deputies and SFPD officers have all attended a POST-mandated police academy, and are duly sworn California peace officers enforcing state laws and San Francisco Municipal Ordinances.

San Francisco Deputy Sheriff catches Robbery Suspects

On the morning of January 5, 2016, San Francisco Deputy Sheriff D. Perez, while off duty and walking his dog, observed two men behaving erratically and shadowing a younger man, possibly with the intention of robbing him.

PerezDeputy Perez immediately texted a friend at the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management dispatch center and learned that two men matching their description were being sought by the San Francisco Police Department.

Deputy Perez provided the SFPD with the suspects’ location. Once the suspects were detained, officers informed Deputy Sheriff Perez that the men were also suspects in other robberies and attempted robberies in the area.

“In this situation Deputy Perez used his law enforcement experience while off duty to recognize potential criminal activity,” said Sgt. M. Kilgariff of San Francisco Sheriff”s Department Civil Section. “We are proud of his quick thinking and his resourcefulness in identifying the two suspects.”

San Francisco Deputies help SFPD with CHP Attempted Murder Suspect

On February 2, 2016, while driving patrol for the San Francisco Sheriff’s Patrol Division, Sr. Deputy M. Clauzel and Deputy M. Li responded to a radio call that a CHP officer had been stabbed.

They first advised the SFSD’s Operation Center at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital to clear a path for an ambulance for the wounded officer Continue reading “San Francisco Deputies help SFPD with CHP Attempted Murder Suspect” →

Sheriff Deputies violent situation at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital

On January 8, 2016, San Francisco Sheriff Deputies G. Edwards and V. Majano together skillfully diffused a potentially violent situation involving a subject who was being placed on a 5150 psychiatric hold at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.

Edwards MajanoTheir intervention was gratefully acknowledged in a memo to Sr. Deputy M. Clauzel penned by Dr. David Kastner, who wrote: “Thank you and your fellow sheriff deputies for your superb assistance with a complicated patient situation this morning. You and your deputies not only kept everyone safe in a situation where a patient was getting more and more agitated, but you also were able to calm the patient down enough to allow him to be appropriately evaluated, and ultimately assisted with his needs. The optimal care that came out of the encounter would not have been possible without your assistance.” Continue reading “Sheriff Deputies violent situation at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital” →