San Francisco Police Department

San Francisco Police Department
File:SFPD Patch.gif
Motto	Oro en paz, fierro en guerra
Operational structure
Sworn members	2000+
Facilities
Stations	10

The San Francisco Police Department or S.F.P.D., is responsible for policing in the City and County of San Francisco. The department's motto is the same as the city and county: Oro en paz/Fierro en guerra (Spanish for Gold in peace, iron in war.).

SFPD 1980s patrol car logo.

SFPD 1980s patrol car logo.

The SFPD began operations on August 13, 1849 during the gold rush and under command of Captain Malachi Fallon. Chief Fallon had a force of one deputy captain, three sergeants and thirty officers.

In 1851, Albert Bernard de Russailh wrote about the nascent San Francisco police force;

"As for the police, I have only one thing to say. The police force is largely made up of ex-bandits, and naturally the members are interested above all in saving their old friends from punishment. Policemen here are quite as much to be feared as the robbers; if they know you have money, they will be the first to knock you on the head. You pay them well to watch over your house, and they set it on fire. In short, I think that all the people concerned with justice or the police are in league with the criminals. The city is in a hopeless chaos, and many years must pass before order can be established. In a country where so many races are mingled, a severe and inflexible justice is desirable, which would govern with an iron hand."

It was not until 1898, a reorganization of the force was a modern police service created and responsible to the city.

In 1997, the San Francisco Airport Police merged with SFPD, becoming the SFPD Airport Bureau.

The S.F.P.D currently has over 2000+ sworn officers.

Heroes of the SFPD

In 1937 Police Captain Arthur Layne, father-in-law to Edmund G. Brown, reported on police corruption in the ranks.

Dante R. Andreotti - officer appointed to create the first Community Relations Bureau in 1962

Gus Bruneman - Found San Francisco Police Athletics League (PAL)

Famous cases and events

• The hunt for Black Bart
• The late nineteenth century Chinatown tong wars
• November, 1886, Police defend old Jail in North Beach from sandlot vigilantes bent on lynching prisoners
• Establishment of the Chinatown squad in the early 1880s
• April, 1895 William Henry Theodore Durrant murder case. Minnie Williams and Blanche Lamont killed in Emanuel Church, Durrant hanged in 1898

• 1901 Chief Sullivan issues order against officers dyeing hair and whiskers, claiming the effort detracts from the officer's duties

• The 1901 Carman's strikes. The Employers' Association and Mayor James D. Phelan's police attacked the strikers. City police rode with scabs. Police beat people but made no arrests. Police behavior during this strike was a major factor in the fall Mayoral election which brought Eugene Schmitz, his patron Abe Ruef, and the Union Labor Party to power. 5 dead, 300 injured
• The 1906 Great Earthquake and fire

• The mysterious drowning death of Chief William J. Biggy
• 1909 establishment of motorcycle squad for "stopping scorchers (bicyclists) and reckless vehicle drivers" and countries first fingerprint bureau (S.F. Examiner June 13, 1977)
• In 1913, San Francisco among first departments to hire women, three women protective officers join the force

• 1917, police blockade the notorious, world-renowned district Barbary Coast, San Francisco, California and refuse entry to any man without legitimate business, then proceed to evict all prostitutes, giving them a few hours to collect their things, thereby effectively shutting down the remaining dives and dancehalls after nearly three quarters of a century as the west coast's premiere vice district

• Preparedness Day bombing, July 22, 1916
• November 15, 1919 Police order all IWW members out of town
• 1921 appointment by Chief Dan O'Brien of Jack Manion to the Chinatown Squad
• Police Academy opens in 1923, first in the nation
• The 1921 Fatty Arbuckle case, Virginia Rappe dies after party in hotel
• The 1934 West Coast longshore strike that included Bloody Thursday July 5, 1934 over a hundred people wounded, strikers Nicholas Bordois and Howard Sperry killed

• On July 17, 1934, the California National Guard blocked both ends of Jackson Street from Drumm to Front with machine gun mounted trucks to assist vigilante raids, protected by SFPD, on the headquarters of the Marine Workers' Industrial Union and the ILA soup kitchen at 84 Embarcadero. Moving on, the Workers' Ex-Servicemen's League's headquarters on Howard between Third and Fourth was raided, leading to 150 arrests and the complete destruction of the facilities. The employer's group, theIndustrial Association, had agents riding with the police. Further raids were carried out at the Workers' Open Forum at 1223 Fillmore Street and the Western Worker building opposite City Hall that contained a bookstore and the main offices of the Communist Party, which was thoroughly destroyed. Attacks were also perpetrated on the 121 Haight Street Workers' School and the Mission Workers' Neighborhood House at 741 Valencia Street

• 1932 Jessie Scott Hughes murdered, trial of public defender Frank Egan ends in first degree murder sentence of 25 years
• Hiring of barrister Jake Ehrlich in mid-1930s by police officers association
• Reveleation of widespread graft reported in the 1937 investigation by District Attorney Matthew Brady's hired detective Edwin Atherton

• On Sunday, May 2nd, 1937, Patrolman George Burkhard, trophied marksman, shoots his wife and two grown daughters and then commits suicide in the midst of prosecution for falsifying documents related to graft hearings
• May 29, 1937, riot in the Polk gulch area on the night of the Golden Gate Bridge Fiesta.
• September 1938 mounted police chase striking Retail Department Store Employees Union in commercial district where thirty-five department stores are affected in general strike
• October 23, 1943, San Francisco Chronicle reports accusations of police tipoffs in the Burns-Caldwell underground abortions case
• October 1943, Iron Ring police clique exposed. Certain officers are accused of participating and profiiting from after hours bars, vice and gambling operations. Ostentatious displays of jewelry, cars and flashy cash decried as criminal gains (SF Chronicle October 25, 1943)
• 1944 V-Day riots that lasted three days, mostly joined by men in uniform
• The Nick de John mafia murder of 1947
• The 1949 frameup and arrest for narcotics possession of Billie Holliday
• September 30, 1955 Chief George Healey asks for disbanding of Chinatown squad, upon request of influential Chinese World newspaper, which states that squad is an "affront to Americans of Chinese descent".
• The 1957 arrest of City Lights Bookstore publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti on obscenity charges for publication of the Allen Ginsberg poem Howl
• September 1, 1958 Chief Frances J. Ahern dies of a heart attack at a baseball game in Seal Stadium
• May 13, 1960 A large group of students and citizens fire-hosed down the marble steps inside City Hall rotunda by the SFPD for protesting their exclusion from HUAC hearings, 52 arrests.
• The 1961 arrest of comedian Lenny Bruce for obscenity
• New Year's Eve party at California Hall raided and 600 attendee's lined up and photographed as homosexuals. The cases went to trial with support from the ACLU. All are acquited
• The Zodiac serial killer case which rocked the Bay Area during the 1960s and '70s
• Arrest of seven young latinos Los Siete De La Raza for the The May 1, 1969 murder of an undercover officer Joe Brodnik and wounding of partner Paul McGoran
• The 1960s targeting of SFPD officers for assassination by militants connected to the Black Panther Party
• Feb 16, 1970, a homemade bomb exploded outside the police Park Station on Waller St. Sgt. Brian McDonnell (44) died 2 days later and 8 other officers were injured. Black Panthers or the Weather Underground were suspects
• The August 1966 Compton's cafeteria riot [1]
• Hunters Point riot. September 27, 1966 a three day riot breaks out when a white police officer shot and killed a sixteen-year-old fleeing the scene of a stolen car. National guard cover city for two days
• In 1966-67, Hippies enact walk-ins in Haight street intersections precipitatng repeated military-style police marches down the street
• 1967, Police arrest dancers Rudolph Nureyev and Dame Margot Fonteyn on the roof of a house near the panhandle for being in the vicinity of pot smoking
• December 1968 through January, 1969, police repeatedly called onstudent protestors by Chancellor S.I. Hyakawa
• The racially-motivated 1970s Zebra murders by a violent Nation of Islam offshoot
• The Symbionese Liberation Army crime spree and the 1975 arrest of Patty Hearst, William and Emily Harris and Wendy Yoshimura in a house on Bernal Heights
• The September 1977 Golden Dragon massacre

• In the late 1960s, New Age philosopher Alan Watts suggested police cars be painted baby blue and white instead of black and white. This proposal was implemented in San Francisco by Chief Charles Gain in the late 1970s. Along with the new color scheme, Gain substituted the City's seal (which appeared on almost all other municipal vehicles owned by San Francisco), with "Police Services" for the department's traditional seven-pointed, blue star logo[2] Watts suggested the police wear baby blue uniforms, but this was never implemented

• August 18, 1975 over 90% of 1,935 police walk out in pay dispute
• Sep 22, 1975 President Gerald R. Ford dodged a second assassination in less than three weeks. Sara Jane Moore, an FBI informer and self-proclaimed revolutionary, attempted to shoot President Ford outside a San Francisco hotel, but missed
• August 4, 1977 over 400 riot-equipped police (some on horseback), and sheriff's deputies take the I-hotel International Hotel from 2000 protestors.
• August 25 1977 Police commission approves an equal opportunity plan that includes recruitment of homosexuals
• The assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk and the arrest of former SFPD officer, firefighter and Supervisor Dan White in 1978.
• The White Night Riots which followed White's acquittal of first degree murder charges and conviction on lesser charges of voluntary manslaughter and led to an unprovoked police raid on a Castro Street gay bar called the Elephant Walk, two miles away and hours after the City Hall disturbance
• Jauary 27, 1979, Police department settles racial discrimination suit filed by Black Police Officer's Association
• In May 1984, notorious sex party at California Halls Rathskeller bar, celebrating the graduation of new San Francisco Police Department cadets
• September 1984 police siege Lord Jim's bar looking for drugs. Hold 60 patrons for more than an hour, prompting lawsuits that cost many thousands of dollars
• The 1981 arrest of David Carpenter, the "Trailside Killer."
• The still-unsolved 1984 disappearance of Kevin Collins
• Democratic National Convention in 1984
• Part of the 1980s case against serial killers Leonard Lake and Charles Ng
• Part of the 1980s case against Richard Ramirez, the night stalker
• Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on Tuesday October 17, 1989
• 1992 Police Chief Richard Hongisto is fired for allegedly prompting three officers to seize more than 2,000 copies of the magazine. One of those three officers, Gary Delagnes, is current president of the Police Officers Association
• The 1993 massacre at 101 California Street
• The Anti-Defamation League Spy Scandal of 1993 involving ADL researcher Roy Bullock and officer Tom Gerard
• New Year's Day 1995. Four officers charged with using unnecessary force and making homophobic comments to partygoers at an AIDS fund-raiser at 938 Harrison St.
• June 4, 1995, Aaron Williams died in police custody.
• The July 1997 Critical Mass bike ride that led to over a hundred arrests and charges of police overrection
• Investigation launched into cashier's checks specifically made out to the Vice Crimes Division and handed directly to a vice squad sergeant. The money was collected from massage parlor workers arrested by the Vice Squad
• The 2001 case against Robert Noel and Marjorie Knoller for the death-by-dog of Diane Whipple
• The 2003 "Fajitagate" of November 19, 2002, when three police officers--Matthew Tonsing, David Lee, and Alex Fagan, Jr. left a police celebration at the House of Prime Rib and assaulted a person over a bag of Fajitas. The incident that led to a grand jury indictment of 10 police officers, including Chief Prentice E. Sanders Criminal defense attorney Jim Collins got former SFPD Officer Alex Fagan Jr. off.
• A December 2005 scandal involving a staged videotape of officers engaged in racist and sexist parodies. [3]
• January 2007, Ex-militants charged in Aug. 29, 1971 slaying of Sgt. John V. Young at Ingleside station and other serious thirty year old crimes

A list of commanding officers of the SFPD:

City Marshals - 1850-1856

• Malachi Fallon
• Brandt Sequine
• John W. McKenzie

Chief of Police

• 1856-58 James F. Curtis
• 1858-66 Martin J. Burke
• 1866-73 Patrick Crowley
• 1873-75 Theodore G. Cockrill
• 1875-77 Henry H. Ellis
• 1877-79 John Kirpatrick
• 1879-97 Patrick Crowley
• 1897-1900 Isaiah W. Lees
• 1900-01 William P. Sullivan
• 1901-05 George Wittman
• 1905-07 Jeremiah F. Dinan
• 1907-08 William J. Biggy
• 1908-10 Jesse B. Cook
• 1910 John B. Martin
• 1910-11 John Seymour
• 1911-20 David A. White
• 1920-28 Daniel J. O'Brien
• 1929-40 William J. Quinn
• 1940-47 Charles W. Dullea
• 1947 Michael Riordan
• 1948-50 Michael Mitchell
• 1951-55 Michael Gaffey
• 1955-56 George Healy
• 1956-58 Francis J. Ahern
• 1958-70 Thomas J. Cahill
• 1970-71 Alfred J. Nelder
• 1971-75 Donald M. Scott
• 1975-80 Charles Gain
• 1980-86 Corneilius P. Murphy
• 1986-90 Frank M. Jordan
• 1990-92 Willis Casey
• 1992 Richard D. Hongisto
• 1992-1996 Anthony D. Ribera
• 1996-2002 Fred H. Lau
• 2002-2003 Prentice E. Sanders
• 2003-2004 Alex Fagan
• 2004- Heather Fong

SFPD Fallen Officers

1969 - officer Joe Brodnik, killed by somebody, prosecution of Los Siete De La Raza

August 29, 1971 - Murder of San Francisco police Sergeant John Victor Young at Ingleside Station. Suspects: Anthony Bottom, Herman Bell, Francisco Torres, Ray Michael Boudreaux, John Henry Bowman, Ronald Stanley Bridgeforth, Richard Edward Brown, Henry Watson Jones, Jr., Richard Kenneth O’Neal, and Francisco Torres.

2006

In 2006, SFPD faced the loss of three officers.

1. Officer Darryl Tsujimoto, 41, a 13-year veteran of the SFPD, died of a heart attack during K9 training on Treasure Island.

2. Officer Nick-Tomasito Birco, 39, died in a vehicle accident when his patrol car was struck from behind by a van carrying four robbery suspects fleeing from other officers.

3. On December 22, 2006, Officer Bryan Tuvera, 28, a four-year veteran of the SFPD, was fatally shot in the head by a jail escapee from San Bruno in the Sunset District. The suspect was shot and killed by other SFPD officers.

Operations

The head of the SFPD is the Chief of Police. The current Chief is Heather Fong. Chief Fong works with Six Deputy Chiefs (Field Operations, Investigations, Airport, Administration, Hetch Hetchy, And Parking & Traffic), two field commanders and an airport commander.

Overall operations is split between two divisions: Metro and Golden Gate. Each division has 5 stations under command for a total of 10 overall.

Demographics

• Male: 85%
• Female: 15%

• White: 60%
• Hispanic: 13%
• Asian: 13%
• African-American/Black: 10%
• Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 4%
• Native American:1%

Compared to the 2000 census for San Francisco;

• White 49.66%
• Black or African American 7.79%
• American Indian and Alaska Native .45%
• Asian 30.84%
• Asian indian .71%
• Chinese 19.65%
• Filipino 5.16%
• Japanese 1.47%
• Korean .99%
• Vietnamese 1.38%
• Other Asian 1.48%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander .49%

Links

• Jails of San Francisco, California

• [Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 2000: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers]

Stations

The S.F.P.D. currently has 10 police stations throughout the city.

• 1) Central Station 766 Vallejo St. San Francisco, CA 94133 (415) 315-2400

• 2) Mission Station 630 Valencia St. San Francisco, CA 94110 (415) 558-5400

• 3) Northern Station 1125 Fillmore St. San Francisco, CA 94115 (415) 614-3400

• 4) Southern Station 850 Bryant St San Francisco, CA 94103(415) 553-1373

• 5) Tenderloin Station 301 Eddy St. San Francisco, CA 94102(415) 345-7300

• 6) Bayview Station 201 Williams St. San Francisco, CA 94124 (415) 671-2300

• 7) Ingleside Station 1 Sgt. John V. Young Ln. San Francisco, CA 94112-2408 (415) 404-4000

• 8) Park Station 1899 Waller Street San Francisco, CA 94117 (415) 242-3000

• 9) Richmond Station 461 - 6th Ave San Francisco, CA 94118 (415) 666-8000

• 10) Taraval Station 2345 - 24th Ave. San Francisco, CA 94116 (415) 759-3100

Pay As A S.F.P.D. Officer

Current pay for a starting S.F.P.D. officer is $70,000- $84,513

Duty Weapons

Current sidearm issue for S.F.P.D officers is either the SIG-Sauer P226R or SIG-Sauer P229R (officer's preference). The inspectors are issued the SIG-Sauer P239. All weapons are chambered for .40 S&W.

Important S.F.P.D. Phone Numbers

Non-emergency, low priority phone number for the S.F.P.D.: (415) 553-0123

External links

• S.F.P.D. Website
• S.F.P.D. History