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News & Updates

Wednesday, February 01, 2023
Second Time Around, Same…
As I briefly wrote last month, the SFPOA and the city are involved in contract negotiations. Much like the last time we went into a negotiation for our contract in 2018, the road to getting something fair and equitable is just as hard if not harder than 2018 when the POA got an arbitration ruling. In 2018 we were battling several things. Read More
Sunday, January 01, 2023
Close Encounters January 2023
It’s customary to end each Close Encounter article with a careful reminder to “stay safe.” or, even a more sensible “Let’s be careful out there.” an admonishment borrowed from the famous Michael Conrad from the “Hill Street Blues”police-television series a “few” years ago. Read More
Sunday, January 01, 2023
Hello, 2023...
Killer robots, contracts, traffic stops, ah the list is endless when it comes to what 2023 has to offer us. For union business, there is never a shortage of “things” on our plate. From the continual meet and confer circuit, to an election for POA board positions, and even recovering from all those holiday parties! There is never any shortage of work to be done. Read More
Thursday, December 01, 2022
Dispatcher of the "Year"
When San Francisco resident Paul Pelosi, the husband of congressional House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was viciously attacked by a hammer-wielding assailant on October 28, 2022, his 9-1-1 call was answered by SF dispatcher Heather Grimes. Read More
Thursday, December 01, 2022
Close Encounters December 2022
What would you possibly have to do to have a $1 million dollar felony warrant issued for your arrest? Well, in this case the warrant was issued for 2 individuals, 1 male, 1 female, who beat a person within an inch of his life. Read More
Thursday, December 01, 2022
2022 Recap: The Highs and Lows
This year-end article is somewhat daunting for me. It feels like 2022 went by with lightning speed. As I try to remember all the things that happened during the past year, I don’t want to miss any details. It has been a very eventful year in San Francisco. Read More
Tuesday, November 01, 2022
Choices
San Franciscans have a choice to make when they turn in their ballots for this election. Do they want to start on the road to recovery, no pun intended, or do they want to see the city keep circling the drain with no end to what is plaguing it. Read More
Tuesday, November 01, 2022
The Chaotic Streets of San Francisco
We have all seen the viral videos and news reports, both local and national, heck even international, about the state of the streets in San Francisco. The streets downtown are in chaos. Read More
Tuesday, November 01, 2022
Close Encounters November 2022
It’s sunset in the Mission District and Officer Gustavo Lopez and his partner, Officer Diego Rodriquez-Ortiz were patrolling the Dolores Park neighborhood when they were approached by a woman who was screaming hysterically in Spanish about someone who had a gun. Read More
Saturday, October 01, 2022
Close Encounters October 2022
Going, going, . . . Gone!! The San Francisco Police Department could, quite possibly, face a day of reckoning as far as personnel shortages are concerned. It’s common knowledge that the Department should be staffed with more than 2100 officers, but they have been slowly dropping from 2100 to 1723. Read More
Saturday, October 01, 2022
It’s always a good time to go to the dump…
The pandemic has made a mockery of any sense of what a “normal” routine is. During this time people are trying to find all sorts of ways to handle stress. Some meditate, some workout, some play music, others cook. I find going to the dump to be a great way to relieve stress and to handle the negativity that has been thrown towards our chosen profession. Read More
Thursday, September 01, 2022
Close Encounters September 2022
“To Protect and Serve” was the motto so proudly displayed on the vehicles the police officers in San Francisco used to drive. But it’s no longer relevant ever since the motto became more of a question rather than a goal. And that question, “To protect and serve who?” still lingers. Read More
Thursday, September 01, 2022
The Double Standard
I must say when you are criticized for something some folks want you to do - but then don’t want you to do because of what will result when you do your job — is annoying as hell. Recently an article came out blasting the statistics of our citation writing prowess. As you can imagine and probably even read, we have on average given out just ten traffic citations a day. Read More
Monday, August 01, 2022
Close Encounters August 2022
It seems there’s an abundance of weapons out there available for the novice criminals to obtain. It doesn’t make the job as a police officer any easier not knowing what an armed felon might do once they have one. And that’s why it’s important to honor the officers out there 24/7 who are putting their lives on the line in this column. Read More
Monday, August 01, 2022
The Will To Reform
Back on November 30, 2020, the SFPD and SFPOA signed a joint agreement titled The Police Reform Collaboration Agreement #1. As this agreement was titled #1 we thought that there would follow more discussion and agreements for reform. Read More
Friday, July 01, 2022
Close Encounters July 2022
People wonder why it’s so hard to hire police officers. There’s a number of reasons but it pretty much boils down to the candidate being able to making a commitment to the profession and all it demands. And the commitment to excellence is no better outlined than in the following incidents presented. Read More
Friday, July 01, 2022
The Toll Policing Takes
Well, I am glad that June is over, and we can set our sights on what’s ahead of us. No need to rehash the changes that June brought — and there were quite a few. Read More
Wednesday, June 01, 2022
Close Encounters June 2022
It’s barely daylight in the Richmond when gunshots rang out on the 1600 block of Balboa. One of the rounds fired was lodged in a bed frame in an apartment next door to the adjoining unit where the shooting was believed to have been initiated. Read More
Wednesday, June 01, 2022
The High Road is a Lonely Place
Everyone is a critic, right? Especially those that would like to get a reaction out of us and pull us in the gutter with them, but we refuse to be dragged down. Our ability to do our job depends on our ability to continue to have empathy and a willingness to drown out the negativity so we can best serve this city. Even when it seems those critics aren’t serving us in good faith. Read More