BIKE NOPA has just posted details on the SFPD police report and the District Attorney’s response to the death of pedestrian Melissa Dennison, killed by a collision at the intersection of Fell and Broderick on September 15th, 2009.
The intersection of Fell and Broderick
Well there’s a whole lot I don’t know about this incident involving a purported cocaine smuggler killed on January 19th, 2010 somewhere in the “Eastern Pacific Ocean.” But, apparently, this smuggler and his boat weren’t too far away from Guatemala City because that’s where he ended up dying after the Coast Guard shot at his engine with a massive rifle mounted on a helicopter.
Feel free to read the account below – it was just released from the 11th District HQ in Alameda, They’re looking into the theory that the purported smuggler died due to “engine fragment or shrapnel injuries.”
Did this shooting get any coverage in Guatemala? No se. Did this shooting get much coverage in any English language publication? Not that I can see. Do the Coasties have video of all this? Oh yes, I’m sure. Does the Coast Guard even know this guy’s name? Maybe not, they haven’t released it, anyway.
Here’s your 21st century Coast Guard – a machine gun for warning shots…
…and when you ignore that, a massive rifle to take out your engine block, presumably a Barrett M82 .50 cal.
I don’t have a photo of one of those helicopter-mounted rifles, but how would you like .50 caliber rifle bullets like these sailing by your head from a chopper one at time?
Click to see the ammo - it’s the most powerful commonly available cartridge not considered a destructive device under the National Firearms Act. So don’t be surprised when the unarmored engine block of your “go-fast” boat blows up after you pretend not to hear all the warnings you’ve just been given:
Last year, the Alameda-based “maritime security cutter” USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750), which is like a destroyer, basically, bigger and badder than anything else the Coast Guard has ever had in warm waters, was on a maritime security mission in the same area. So I suppose this is how the smallest branch of the military is spending part of its time these days, just hanging out near Central America looking for drug boats and submarines. It’s like Miami Vice, West Coast or something.
And that’s it.
Maybe the Coasties will issue a more-detailed report sometime.
Read all about it, after the jump
A San Francisco memorial for Melissa Dennison is set for Tuesday, September 29th, 6:00 PM at Ocean Beach (somewhere near the Beach Chalet, most likely). All the details are/will be here on this Facebook entry. From FB:
The scene at Fell and Broderick:
Read this bit here over at BIKE NOPA to see that at least one SFPD lieutenant doesn’t consider the death of pedestrian Melissa Dennison to be a case of vehicular manslaughter. According to Lt. Ramlin of Park Station, at this point:
“There is no determination that it was manslaughter.”
The memorial at Fell and Broderick as it appeared a few days ago:
(Personally, I think when people use the term “speeding” in regards to traffic on Fell and Oak, they’re not saying what mean. Are they talking about cars literally going more than 30 mph? It’s not clear.)
The police report should be coming out soon…
The makeshift memorial for killed pedestrian Melissa Dennison at the intersection of Fell and Broderick is still drawing observers.
More flowers have come and someone put up a large photo. As it looked last night:
A memorial is planned for this Sunday in the Lake Tahoe area.
“Please join family and friends to celebrate the life of Melissa Hope Dennison. A memorial service will be held at West End Beach on Sunday, Sept. 20, beginning at 1 p.m. Bring food, drinks, and memories to share. All are welcome at the West End Beach Donner Lake in Truckee.”
It appears as if somebody threw away the flowers at Fell and Broderick yesterday morning - they were placed there as a memorial for fallen San Francisco pedestrian Melissa Dennison. But tons more were added throughout the day.
And this was the scene last night. The intersection smelled like a florist’s shop:
People were reading reports from the Examiner and KTVU-TV.
At this point it’s not really clear how this quote from the ‘Xam…
“State law dictates that an intersection doesn’t need to marked to be considered a crosswalk.”
…is useful since all the crosswalks in the area are marked.
We’ll have to wait to see if the office of Kamala Harris will charge the driver…
This was the scene last night at the intersection of Fell and Broderick in the NoPA North of Panhandle Area. It’s the start of a memorial for 24 year old pedestrian Melissa Dennison, who was struck by a car and killed yesterday morning.
Click to expand:
“Melissa, you were loved and will be missed by many.”
They’re already calling for incarceration of the driver at StreetsBlog SF.
The commenters at SFist reveal that the pedestrian was herself cited twice last year for two different DUI car accidents at one location in Truckee, CA.
A sad story.
A kind of black celebration was held in Golden Gate Park this afternoon to mark the end of the MUNI’s San Francisco CultureBus.
See the death throes of CB via Steve Rhodes, Whole Wheat Toast, Plug1, Octoferret, MattyMatt, SftaJan, AgentAkit, and Jamison
Who showed up? Transit fans and local online royalty. Click to expand:
This 74-X couldn’t leave without baffling its last pair of tourists. They didn’t get on. Surprised?
All that was left was the filled-in pole hole that used to mark the CB bus stop:
Yes, the 74X is terminal. It’s dead, Jim
Here’s one last glimpse through the famous see-through bus:
Perhaps these brand new buses and their friendly drivers will soon be put to better use, just in time for the possible BART strike.
We Can Only Hope.
This was the scene today on Van Ness, where these bikini-clad PETA protesters sat in a tub of red water. Why’s that? Something to do with chickens – read about it below.
¡Yo quiero mi garda!Chasque para ampliarse:
The mise-en-scene:
A passer by checks things out:
PETA rep Jena Hunt talking with Sebastian “cBas” Kunz from ClearChannel 910 KNEW / Green 960:
Two PETA members in red bikinis will be crammed together in a tank of “bloody” water with the message “McDonald’s Scalds Chicks to Death” to protest the abuse that chickens suffer in slaughterhouses that supply the fast-food chain.
Why is PETA going after the Golden Arches? McDonald’s currently allows its U.S. chicken suppliers to use a slaughter method that causes many birds to endure broken bones and other abuses. Birds have their throats cut while they are still conscious and are often scalded to death in tanks of hot water. PETA has urged McDonald’s to require its suppliers to adopt an improved slaughter method called “controlled-atmosphere killing” (CAK), which eliminates some of the worst abuses that birds suffer. In 2005, McDonald’s produced a report concluding that CAK offers significant animal welfare benefits over the conventional slaughter method, but the company has not required any of its U.S. suppliers to switch to it.
“McDonald’s has refused to lift a finger to stop its American suppliers from scalding chickens to death and abusing them in other hideous ways,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “McDonald’s customers across the country are now saying, ‘I’m hatin’ it,’ every time they spot the Golden Arches.”
To learn more about the campaign and to watch PETA’s McCruelty video, please visit PETA’s Web site McCruelty.com.
And There You Have It.
Now back in the day, a place like the Little Shamrock on Lincoln in the Inner Sunset would be hopping on Saint Patrick’s Day, but tonight didn’t seem all that bustling at all. Mind you, the place was full, but it didn’t seem as busy as in years past.
Click to expand. Back in the day, pre-recession, you’d have a crowd of a hundred or so on the sidewalk in front of LS waiting to get in on “Shamrock Night.”
The same could be said for the Irish-type bars in the Inner Richmond District as well. The Plough and Stars, Abbey Taven, the Bitter End and the like on Clement and Geary just didn’t seem to be all that busy.
Oh well.
Now about that “Shamrock Day” – it’s the politically correct term, apparently, so the wee ones won’t go Catholic on you, or something. (Yish.)
See you next year.
