I often write of how lucky we are to be in a position to help people and how the men and women of this proud Department do just that every day. I get letters and emails all the time praising the good work of the cops on the streets and those behind the scenes that demonstrate the phrase that I often close my column with: “SF’s Finest.” This month, I thought I’d let someone else tell the story of just how good we can be.
On Christmas Day, 2007, a Bengal Tiger escaped from her open-air enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo and attacked three visitors, killing one, shortly after closing time. Members of the San Francisco Police Department responded, engaged the tiger, and no one else was injured. An unbelievable situation that no one could have ever conceived would have taken place when they joined the SFPD. When asked about their courage, the officers responded: “We were just doing our job”!
That was about as crazy a call as I had ever heard….until this past month.
We saw the end of an era this month with the retirement of POA President Gary Delagnes. Gary spent 34+ years in service to the citizens of San Francisco, and to the men and women of the SFPD. I met Gary Delagnes in 1981 at Central Station. When I met him, I was just out of the Academy. Our hourly rate of pay was $11.21 an hour, and I was happy to get it. New San Francisco police officers make just a bit better than that now. In fact, many things have changed since the fall of 1981. Here is a sampling of what the SFPD offered in the way of pay and benefits 32 years ago:
The Chamber of Commerce’s Annual City Beat Survey has been released for 2013. You might remember me praising the men and women of the SFPD last year for posting record approval ratings: 72% Favorable/18% Unfavorable in the 2012 survey. Just when you think that the men and women of this Department couldn’t be seen in a more favorable light, they post another well-deserved record year in the 2013 survey. In this year’s survey, the citizens of San Francisco see the SFPD as 76% Favorable/16% Unfavorable.
Has it really been 18 years between Super Bowls here in the City of Saint Francis? Hard to believe but our Forty Niners claimed their 5th Super Bowl victory (against no losses) after a posting league best 13-3 regular ‘94 season. As it turned out, it would be Steve Young’s first and only Super Bowl Championship. A 49-26 (the score wasn’t even that close) shellacking of the San Diego Chargers at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami. After five Super Bowl wins, the Super Bowl Parade down Market Street had almost become commonplace in San Francisco.
The Headline of the September 26 Examiner read:
“DESTINATION: SF”
Unprecedented series of events big and small to bring
1 million people to The City next week
On September 11 we marked the 11th Anniversary of the attack on the Twin Towers in New York City where hundreds of police and firefighters made the ultimate sacrifice trying to save lives. My son is a huge Marvel Super Hero fan. He sent me this caricature on September 11th. I thought I’d share it with you in lieu of a column this month to show you how we are seen by children. A picture is worth a thousand words:
We entered July without more than a few of the legendary cops that had served for decades as they retired at the end of June. I’m not going to name any names for fear of leaving someone out so I’ll just leave it at, “You know who you are”. As we look for you for the sage wisdom we have taken for granted, that we thought would always be there, and find you gone, “we will always remember.” Best of luck in your well earned retirements.
May is always an exciting month because it is the last month of the school year or, looking at it another way, the month before summer. This May was “something” in San Francisco and for the SFPD.
On April 27, 2011, I was sworn in as the 42nd Chief of the San Francisco Police Department. Can it be that a year has gone by already? A look at the calendar shows that it is May 2012, so I guess so.
July 1, 2024
