A special report was filed on CNN recently regarding personnel shortages in police recruitments throughout the country and what they found was — No one wants the job.
One veteran officer pretty much summed up what a lot of others are thinking when he answered the question of why good candidates are shying away from this particular profession:
His take, “It’s because you’re one bullet away from death, and only one mistake away from an indictment.”
Someone definitely needs to make a better case than what’s been done so far educating the public that there is a real crisis in the making when 200 San Francisco Police Officers, who have more than paid their dues, leave for other agencies.
You can’t blame them, they are just looking out for better options.
And let’s face it, it doesn’t help morale much when the District Attorney of your City does a better job acting like a Public Defender reveling in what appears to be a greater interest in the prosecution of cops rather than the people they’ve arrested.
Every police officer wants The City to be safer than it already is. And we are lucky to have such dedicated individuals who don’t mind dealing with that danger. Someone who doesn’t mind leaving his/her family while completing a 10-hour shift responding to calls of people armed with guns shooting at each other.
The calls for service don’t decline in proportion to those officers retiring. They continue to pile up until it eventually wears on those dedicated members who don’t ask a whole lot from their City leaders.
But you can’t have such brave men and women constantly looking over their shoulder because of foolish mandates the Police Commission seems to relish imposing.
That doesn’t work.
The Commission objectives have to be in sync with the troops on the street. And until that happens, the numbers will continue to drop.
Stay safe.
A woman, mother of 2, was shot and killed at O’Farrell and Larkin Streets. A horrible tragedy. Nevertheless, witnesses and evidence had to be located so the following members of the Tenderloin Task Force, the Narcotics Detail, and the Homicide and Robbery divisions were up to the task:
Officer Brenton Reeder, Officer Anthony Scafani, Officer Blake Cunningham, Officer James Puccinelli, Officer Sandon Cheung, and Officer Kenny Cha
The officers were successful in their investigation and managed to retrieve sufficient evidence to charge those responsible for the murder.
Sergeant Martin Bandvik submitted a Captain’s Commendation for those involved citing: “These officers should be commended for their outstanding police work. If it were not for their selfless dedication to duty, this murder might have gone unsolved. Their actions are consistent with the highest traditions of this profession!”
“Déjà vu all over again…”
The famous quote uttered by Yogi Berra captures what no other explanation could in regards to what happened in the Richmond District when 3 ‘Hot Prowl’ burglaries took place close to the same time. Sergeant Erik Leung was kept busy documenting the outstanding work of the following officers when they apprehended a suspect on the 600 block of 23rd Avenue, another on the 3100 block of Balboa, and again on the 600 block of Balboa. All separate incidents and a suspect apprehended at each one!!
Officer Brian Alston, Officer John Solomon, Officer Brandfon Gumabo, Officer Jacob Menis, Officer Romari Collins, Officer Norman Bobila, Officer Michael Herrera, Officer Scott Butland, and Sergeant O’Meara.
One of the suspects was also wanted for a prior burglary!
Now it’s 5 a.m. in the Richmond and there is a report of “shots fired” on the 1600 block of Balboa Street. Sergeant Leung responded along with Officer John Solomon, Officer Brandon Gumabo, Officer Kevin Gil and Officer Michael Canning and they took part in coordinating efforts to safely clear the adjoining units near the apartment where the gunfire was heard.
The occupants of the apartment were uncooperative so a search warrant was obtained. The officers subsequently found multiple un-serialized and unregistered “ghost guns” including an assault rifle and multiple handguns along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition!!
The individual who Officer Declan Flannery and Officer Sky Schmierer-Marquez contacted on Waller Street while sitting in a vehicle had actually stolen that car earlier in the day. And he was already awaiting sentencing for possession of stolen property and possession of burglary tools and had promised, as a condition of his release, that he would not commit any crimes…really?
Meanwhile, Officer Kelly Kensic, Officer Peter Vander Horn, Officer Charles Dagit and Officer Declan Flannery were checking out an illegally parked car on Buena Vista East when they discovered a number of items in the back seat that appeared stolen with sensors still attached. The driver had no explanation for those items and even fewer comments when the car he claimed was his came back stolen…oops.
This individual already had 3 pending cases before the court and he promised he would not commit any other crimes while awaiting sentencing on those matters . . . he must have had his fingers crossed when he agreed.
Do we think there’s a reason the crooks are pulling these stunts in San Francisco and not the other counties? Yep — that’s because the other counties have real District Attorneys who charge the violators accordingly while holding them responsible for their actions.
