By Steve Johnson
Officer Thomas Ly and Officer Ron Meyer knew the woman behind the wheel of the vehicle with the windshield wipers on but no headlights. They knew her by name and the fact that she had a search condition as a result of her probation. So when they pulled her over to issue an admonishment about the vehicle code violation she objected both verbally and physically. One could only imagine the probable reason for such an attitude was because of the fully-loaded, .40 semi-automatic weapon she was carrying in her backpack.
Talk about follow-up . . . Officer Jose Macias and Officer Stanley Lee were dispatched to a neighborhood that was being cased by auto boosters. A citizen called in a very distinctive description of the suspect vehicle. The officers located the car entering the freeway and followed. A traffic stop was later initiated and a probation search conducted. The officers found numerous women’s purses and a laptop. A further investigation by Officer Tommy Fong revealed that one of the social calendars of the victims found indicated that she had gone to a night club in the area where the officers first saw the suspects. Officers Gary Cheng and Officer Rigoberto Haro located the victim at the club and she later identified many of the items stolen as hers.
The suspect had a violent history and was now wanted for 3 counts of attempted murder. Officer Ricardo Valdez, Officer Chris Schaffer, Officer Chris Dunne, and Officer Matt Cloud managed to track the suspect down. When they went to approach him he ran but didn’t get far before he was in cuffs.
Officer Brent Cader and Officer Joseph Gummo were dispatched to a call of shots fired in the area of George Court. When they arrived they saw a vehicle they believed may have been involved. The officers used a 4’ high concrete wall to their advantage advancing to the car that had 3 on board without being seen and waiting just 6’ feet away. The officers then heard a firearm being charged from their position at which time they approached the parked car and ordered the suspects out. There was an initial reluctance on the part of the driver who refused to show his hands. Once the car was emptied the officers found a .45 caliber semi-automatic firearm with the hammer in the cocked position on the floorboard with an additional magazine on top of the weapon.
There was a tremendous team-effort on the part of the Bayview Station crew the other night while trying to extract a barricaded domestic violence suspect from his residence. There was also an elderly woman and a young child inside which made it even more difficult. The operation was overseen by Captain Gary Jimenez, Sergeant Matt Inocencio, Hostage Negotiator Sergeant Kirk Yin, Officer Louie Benavidez, and Officer Matt Leong and was successfully resolved after a 2-hour stand-off.
Auto boostings in Golden Gate Park are always a priority since so many take place in that environ. Officer Michele Martinez was working as a plainclothes officer conducting surveillance in the area of JFK Drive and 30th Avenue. She saw an individual who was walking along peering into the parked cars as he did. The man then abandoned that area and moved to another with Michele close by. This individual now approached other parked cars with a cell phone to his ear pretending to be talking to someone but as soon as other pedestrians appeared he would move back behind a tree line. It was pretty clear what he was up to so Officer Martinez made contact. The man turned out to be on parole for auto burglary. And, after conducting her investigation, Michele found auto boosting tools of the trade on the person detained and the phone being used apparently as a ruse, turned out it belonged to another auto boost victim who was hit the day prior . . .
Noticing a vehicle violation on a car driving in the area of 16th and Mission Streets, Officer Candiece Lewis and Officer Ian Richards decided to speak to the driver. The officers had to tow the vehicle as a result of their investigation and when they conducted their inventory search they located a fully-loaded, .40 caliber semi-automatic. You just never know . . .
Another driver violating the vehicle code just a few blocks away was stopped by Officer Josey Russell and Officer Donald Anderson. Their subsequent investigation found that the driver was wanted on a criminal warrant out of Oaklane. Another tow inventory resulted in finding a large amount of marijuana and several thousand dollars separated into bundles consistent with the proceeds of large sales . . .
The entire 3rd floor of an apartment building on the 700 block of Columbus Avenue erupted into flames just as Tac Unit 4 Team was driving by. The squad, lead by Sergeant Jason Sawyer and Sergeant Damon Keeve, immediately notified Dispatch and charged up the stairs of the apartment house to initiate evacuation of the tenants. Officer Nick Suslow, Officer Dan Simone, Officer Dave Maron, and Officer Pete Schlegle managed to get all of those trapped out of the building without injury and then utilized available fire extinguishers for suppression.
We are always amazed at how much great police work is being done out there. We can only hope that the submission of that work is streamlined so that a supervisor should only have to provide a copy of the police report with a brief recommendation for either a Police Commission Commendation, a Meritorious Conduct Award, or any one of the Meals of Valor. There’s no need to reiterate what’s already been captured on a police report. Hopefully, whoever will evenutally be in charge, can get that done.
Stay safe.
