The National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund reported that as of November 28, 2011, 157 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty. (57 firearm-related , 58 traffic-related , and 42 by other means.)
16 more officers than we lost in 2010 . . .
It’s the middle of the day when Officer Tommie Bartley and Officer Erik Maher make a traffic stop on a car violating several sections of the California Vehicle Code in the Bayview District. One thing led to another and the driver was eventually asked to step from his car – he did so rather
awkwardly – probably because he had a fully-loaded , TEC 9 machine pistol strapp ed around his waistband ...
Same district a little later in the evening and Officer Edward Zeltser and Officer Simon Wong stop a vehicle for excessive speed . The driver is reaching into his glove compartment when the officers approach but then shuts it quickly. The driver’s license was suspended and his passenger had an outstanding arrest warrant for weapons violations. After removing both subjects the officers subsequently inventoried the contents of the vehicle and found a fully-loaded , .40 caliber handgun in the glove box of the car . . .
Again, same district and Officer Nicholas Hillard with Officer Simon Wong are flagged down by a security guard outside a night club. The guard points out an individual who he had to eject from the club and was now threatening to shoot him. The officers approached the suspect to further their investigation and when the subject started to move away they saw the reason why - he had a gun tucked in his waistband. It was a fully-loaded, semi-automatic weapon . . .
Sergeant Mike Deely was working with Officer Robert Richins, Officer Matthew Sullivan, Officer John Murphy, and Officer Albert Cuidad in the Central District trying to break up several known fencing operations when they came across a ‘frequent flyer’ casing cars near Pier 39 where all the tourists flock and leave ample treasure for these thieves in their rented vehicles. A quick check revealed the suspect was not only driving without a license but also had a felony, no-bail arrest warrant out for him. An inventory of the felon’s car revealed 4 laptops - none of them his . . .
Officer Anthony Ravano, Officer Joe Salazar, and Officer Michael Shavers working the Violence Reduction Team, were tracking a wanted parolee at large in the Sunnydale area when they found him hanging out with the regulars. The only problem was, he didn’t want to be found. So the chase was on, with Officer Ravano and Officer Shavers going one way, and Officer Salazar the other. The suspect turned a corner while running from 2 of the officers only to find himself facing Officer Salazar. It was at this point that the parolee pulled out the semi-automatic weapon he had concealed and stared-down Officer Salazar. There was a brief stand-off until the suspect came to his senses and threw the gun to the street and attempted to get by Officer Salazar but that never happened. Captain John Murphy, OIC Violence Reduction Team, prepared the Captain’s Commendation regarding this incident and made some interesting observations . . . “This suspect was one of the most dangerous gang members in the Sunnydale area.” He also complimented the officers making an arrest under extremely difficult circumstances. And then the Captain added, “This arrest will not make the news. It will not be talked about in community meetings. No police practice experts will review this incident. This document is the only recognition for these fine officers. Their actions not only made the community safer, but represent the San Francisco Police Department in it’s best possible light.” Sad but true . . .
A violent homicide occurred in the Tenderloin and Officer Irene Michaud, Officer Brian Michaud, Officer Tony LaRocca, and Officer Joe Giannini set up at the suspect’s home waiting for his return. Sure enough, a few hours later, the suspect pulled up and was immediately taken into custody. San Francisco Sheriff’s Deputy William James also assisted in the capture of the dangerous felon.
All Officer Greg Skaug and Officer Theodore Polovina were going to do was advise the driver of the car blocking the intersection to move. But when they pulled up alongside to issue the admonishment, the passenger ran from the car. Not sure what was going on, the officers followed. Turned out the passenger didn’t want them to find the fully-loaded, semi-automatic he was carrying . . .
Officer Jennifer Irwin was patrolling the Ocean Beach parking lot during the early morning hours when she found a vehicle that had been reported stolen from Colorado. There was no one on board. However, Jennifer conducted a little follow-up investigation by addressing several individuals sleeping on the beach telling them that she was just giving them the opportunity to either move their cars or they would be cited . . . And one individual fell for the ruse and walked back to “her” car with the keys. She later admitted to stealing the car and also copped to the large quantity of marijuana Officer Irwin found during the inventory search . . .
There was a multiple shooting in Visitacion Valley in the middle of the day where several people were struck with bullets including an 11-year old child. Officer Sam Fung and Officer Joel Hornstein were the first unit on the scene. They managed to gain the trust of those present and obtained an excellent description of the car used in the shooting. It wasn’t long before Officer Albert Johnson and Officer Uwem Obot located the suspect vehicle and, with the help of back-up officers, managed to take the suspects and their loaded, .40 caliber semi-automatic in custody.
Officer Anthony Randolph was on his way to work at Central Station when he saw a robbery suspect the officers had been looking for days earlier. The suspect was standing right next to Central Station. Officer Randolph called the station and PSA Kimberly Williams alerted the officers inside the business office who all ran out to help Officer Randolph take the suspect into custody. Sergeant Daniel Greely led the charge with Officer Chuck Simpson, Officer Mary Godfrey, and Officer Sanjay Shastri - all of whom had just reported off-duty but were not going to let one of their own be placed in harms way.
And that is why it was extremely impressive to see Police Chief Greg Suhr and his entire command staff actually running down the hallway of the 5th floor at the Hall of Justice the other day after an officer had called a ‘406’. How reassuring it is to have a police Chief and his entire command staff actually listening to Dispatch and totally prepared to respond to an emergency call for help by a uniformed officer in San Francisco. Doesn’t get much better than that and hasn’t, in a long time.
