SFPD
Presumably they're making sure we don't see a repeat of last night's mayhem (or they heard that Cold Beer, Cold Water has a habit of showing up to melees and want to stop that menace right quick).
Either way, protests are happening at 16th and 24th Street BART stations, should you be so inclined.
Previously on Uptown Almanac
I'm guessing the majority of the readers of this blog would rather drag their naked bodies down a Mission Street sidewalk than talk to the cops about anything, but for the few of you that wouldn't mind, this community meeting to discuss bike theft in the Mission could be really valuable! Or not. I haven't been to the meeting yet.
That's right, on March 29th at 6:30pm in the Mission Station Community Room, SFPD will hold a meeting "to promote an open discussion between bicycle advocates, community members and the San Francisco Police Department on how to better respond to bike theft, current practices and how to better protect your bicycle." Yes, they want to hear your thoughts on their response to bike theft.
For those of you not already fast asleep on your keyboard, let me just say that it's nice to see SFPD stepping up their game in this department. Sure, their current practices of fuck-it-let's-put-this-stupid-motherfucker-into-a-coma and creating a recovered bike database are great and all, but it's not helping anyone I know get their bikes/wheels/saddles/handlebars/spokecards back. Perhaps something good will come of this?
Previously on Uptown Almanac
In January, it was SFPD's motorcycle division was running a sting on cyclists running reds on Market St. Now they're running "decoy operations," according to this email that just landed in our inbox by way of the Butterlap email list:
a note from a friendly SF cop:
Be Aware! In response to community complaints about motorists and bicyclists failing to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, SFPD is conducting city-wide sting operations. In an effort to make the streets safer for all, Officers are conducting decoy operations throughout San Francisco. Drivers & cyclists who do not yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk will be cited. Please let your friends & family know that the pedestrian they don’t stop for in a crosswalk may be a police decoy.
Don't we have some crooked drug dealers to bust or something?
Previously on Uptown Almanac
sftlltr just posted a bunch of photos of SFPD cracking down on October's "bouncy ball party turned street melee" (as SF Appeal dubbed it, anyway) on 24th St. A little refresher:
According to SFPD spokesperson Officer Albie Esparza, who to his credit confirmed my questions about this incident as professionally and seriously as he does those of far more significant crimes, SFPD received calls reporting a "melee" at the 2900 block of 24th Street at 1:15 AM on October 23rd.
Callers reported "150 subjects in a physical and verbal fight in street," says Esparza. When "multiple officers" from both the Bayview and Mission stations arrived at the scene, they discovered that there was indeed a crowd on the street, "due to an over-capacity party." [...]
Esparza confirms that when police arrived, the bouncy balls were still in play, and that when SFPD attempted to detain one party goer who, after the order to disperse was given, still attempted to "push his way back into the premises...the crowd turned on police and turned hostile, with people from the crowd throwing plastic balls and bottles at the police."
Of course, the pictures seem to tell a bit of a different story...
Look SFPD, we get it. Between all the gang wars, drug dealers, and cyclists riding through stop signs, you have your hands full. The Mission is happening nearly every hour of every day, yet you somehow manage to keep the 'hood from looking like 7th and Market. You deal with the complaints of geezer neighbors without totally ruining the fun. You look away when we spark a joint. And no one has ever watched you slap a pair of cuffs on Cold Beer Cold Water.
For all that, most residents give you well-deserved credit.
But every time we start thinking SFPD isn't all that bad, you go pull a stunt that reminds us all that you employ some of the most toolish douchebags to ever live in the City and County of San Francisco.
Take yesterday's closing of Sunday Streets. Argubly one of the most successful civic events in the city, Sunday Streets brings thousands of San Franciscans from every corner of the city together to enjoy motor-free streets for five measly hours. The streets are lined with musicians, neighbors barbequing on their stoops, local merchants and cooks flipping their wares, children learning bike polo, people adoring low riders, kids going nuts with chalk, art bikes, costumed rollerbladers, and even dance lessons. The community the event fosters is enough to bring a smile to even the most cynical dipshit's face.
So when the public's time was up, how'd you close down the event? Send officers walking down the street, politely telling people to move to the sidewalks? Dispatch the Mission's bicycle cops down Valencia to assist in winding the event down? Strap rollerskates on officers dressed like The Village People and kick people off the streets?
No, you sent Officer Power Trip and his sidekick Sargent Shitbag down Valencia on motorcycles, wailing on their sirens, yelling over the loudspeaker to get on the sidewalk, and accelerating into crowds of people so they'd jump to the curb. And it wasn't jump unemployed kids on fixies you treated like this. No, these trailblazers in misdirected anger chirped their horns at families in the street, yelled at merchants that hurriedly dragged their belongings to the curb. Hell, I even saw the officer pictured above accelerate his motorcycle right into former city supervisor and mayoral candidate Bevan Dufty and his volunteers.
Your department treats families, neighbors, and generally lovely people with the same respect you show #OpBART protesters. What the fuck is wrong with you?
I'm always down for a good protest, but claiming that Saturday's shooting victim Kenneth Harding was 'murdered' for "not paying his MUNI fare" is a bit of a stretch. If you've been reading Tumblr recently, you might have missed this:
According to the Chronicle this morning, SFPD identified the victim as 19-year-old Kenneth Harding a parolee from Washington State who was also wanted by Seattle police as a suspect in a shooting that left one 19-year-old pregnant woman dead and three others injured last week.
Police say the victim fired at them during the chase, prompting the officers to fire back several shots. The man was taken to San Francisco General Hospital where he later died.
Now, I've been alive long enough to not trust the police when they claim a victim fired the first shot (remember Mehserle claiming he thought Oscar Grant was reaching for a gun?), and I do believe everyone deserves their constitutionally-guaranteed fair trial. It also seems excessively inhumane for the police to just let the guy bleed out on the sidewalk with their guns drawn and refuse him any medical assistance. But this man doesn't strike me as a character to prop up as a civil rights victim.
Anyways, I'm sure this will make for some good theater and protest tourism, so perhaps I'll take a break from my busy boozing schedule gawk at the absurdity. And if you need to tweet about it, the organizers have suggested these clever hashtags for your "digital rocks through the windows of government":
I know B2B was, like, forever ago, but just look at this snap. Bummer Bear innocently staring into the soul of a random SFPD officer demanding he moisten the ground with his beverage. The officer playing coy; looking away from the tempting gaze of his newfound big brown animal lover. At any second, the officer's billy club will be used for the most gratifying of unintended purposes.
What a moment.
Recent comments
0 sec ago
58 min 18 sec ago
3 hours 9 min ago
3 hours 48 min ago
5 hours 14 min ago
5 hours 42 min ago
6 hours 56 min ago
7 hours 8 min ago
7 hours 39 min ago
7 hours 40 min ago