The San Francisco Citizen

What we got for our recent $400,000 study of the San Francisco Police Department was a bunch of recommendations. One of which was to train officers in the use of Tasers.

This scene from just yesterday shows the detention of a suspect after multiple SFPD handguns were unholstered and drawn in a parking lot near the Golden Gate Theatre. One false move from this suspect and he’d have been plugged multiple times from three different angles. And then we’d have another officer-involved shooting, such as what we had with Asa Sullivan at the ParkMerced.

Of course Tasers can lethal as well. But it’s nice to have an extra arrow in your quiver, another tool in the law enforcement box.

The only way to find out if Tasers are good for San Francisco is to try it and see, right?

In these days hybrid buses, cars and everything else, it’s interesting to see the OFFICIAL BUSINESS of a City and County vehicle, such as this SFPD Dodge Charger R/T in a plain wrapper, being powered by such a non-hybriddy engine like a 5.7 litre V-8 HEMI. 

So, this explains the MY NEXT POLICE CAR IS GOING TO HAVE A HEMI bumper stickers seen around town. What’s left a mystery is why these engines are called Hemi’s anyway.

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“Hemi” stands for hemispherical combustion chamber, but the term as used these days is “little more than a copyrighted word that bears little meaning, descriptively, for the engines designated as such.” Or, in other words, ”that thing got a Hemi? No, not really.”  

On the other hand, your 1975 Toyota Corolla just might have an actual hemi, if not the boss HEMI logo on the side. 

Choose wisely

An agitated SFPD police officer invited the driver of this BMW to get out on the freeway if he was in such a hurry. It seems there’s a crackdown on speedy drivers using the park as a shortcut to get across town.

The dog in the passenger seat appeared to sense the tension.

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The driver wasn’t at freeway speeds of course, but he might have “California stopped” (or Oklahoma stopped, either way) through a stop sign.

Let off with a warning, we should all be so lucky…

This genuine San Francisco Police Department Ford Crown Victoria prowler sports a bumper sticker that states:

“MY NEXT POLICE CAR IS GONNA TO HAVE A HEMI“

This is a reference to the hemispherical combustion chambers of the 5.7 litre engine of the Dodge Charger Police Interceptor. So, did the S.F.P.D. place an order for Daimler-Chrysler squad cars?

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Via Arlen’s photostream

Signs point to “yes.” So soon, the SFPD might start looking like the CHP.

Poor Ford!

Or, in other words, ¿Quién mató a Brian Márquez?  That’s the question people are still asking in the Mission District, especially these days, when homicides in the area are up, up up. So much so, that hundreds of marchers, including Supervisor Tom Ammiano and Police Commissioner David Campos had to hold a vigil in an attempt to draw more attention to the situation.

The link to the website with information about Brian’s murder from 2005 is here.

A scene from 24th Street. Click to expand:

The Anonymous Tip Line for Violent Crime in San Francisco is (415) 575-4444. There are rewards.

Mark “Papa” Guardado, President of the Hells Angels’ San Francisco chapter, was killed in the  Mission District on September 2nd. Tomorrow’s funeral should be well-attended.

The vigil will be held Sunday at 7 p.m. and a funeral Monday at 10 a.m. at Duggan’s Serra Mortuaryat 500 Westlake Ave. in Daly City, with interment to follow at Cypress Lawn cemetery in Colma. The two-wheeled funeral procession could be the largest in Bay Area history.

This is what the sidewalk memorial for Papa Frisco looked like today at 24th and Treat in the Mission. Click to expand:

The Guardian Angels were on patrol in this area over the weekend and there are extra police around as well.

Let’s hope for a peaceful day tomorrow.

Straight out of Louisiana, this joint effort from Ferrara Fire Apparatus and Applied Global Technologies will be the center of attention the next time San Francisco faces a crisis.

Or a tailgate party.

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The Guardian Angels, those unarmed volunteer citizen crime patrollers, are on the rise in the San Francisco area lately.

Here’s what they looked like last year in Oakland. Click to enlarge:

via ruth-o-rama’s Photostream

And here’s who showed up in San Francisco’s Mission District yesterday, per San Francisco FYI net.

Some parts of the Mission certainly can use a little help these days. You can explore these issues with those who march tonight at 7:00 PM on 24th Street.

See you there.

Now, we’re not talking about temporarily closing down a freeway to cars on Father’s Day like they did in Pasadena a while back, to the horror of Rob Anderson.

And we’re not talking about an illegal bicycle romp in traffic the way the Crimanimalz do it on the 405.

We’re talking about you legally riding your bike on the right side of some of California’s 4000 miles of freeway.

Well, according to the California Department of Transportation, maker of melty orange and blue cupcakes, si, se puede! Yes, you can ride your bike on about 1000 miles of California freeway.

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For proof, check out this white sign in Marin County on the 101 South. You see? It says “BICYCLES MUST EXIT” so that means, assuming you didn’t ignore any ”Bicycles Prohibited” sign, it’s all good for you to be on this stretch of freeway. Q.E.D. Res Ipsa Loquitur.

Here’s the CalTrans version:

Of the more than 4,000 miles of freeways in California, about 1,000 miles are open to bicyclists. These open sections are usually in rural areas where there is no alternate route. California Vehicle Code Section 21960 says Caltrans and local agencies may prohibit bicyclists from traveling on freeways under their jurisdiction and that they must erect signs stating the prohibition. There are no signs permitting bicyclists on freeways. When a bicyclist is legally traveling on a freeway, he/she may be directed off the freeway at the next off-ramp by a sign that says “Bicycles Must Exit.” The freeway will be posted at the next on-ramp with a sign that says “Bicycles Prohibited.”

And here’s the Vehicle Code:

21960.  (a) The Department of Transportation and local authorities,
by order, ordinance, or resolution, with respect to freeways,
expressways, or designated portions thereof under their respective
jurisdictions, to which vehicle access is completely or partially
controlled, may prohibit or restrict the use of the freeways,
expressways, or any portion thereof by pedestrians, bicycles or other
nonmotorized traffic or by any person operating a motor-driven
cycle, motorized bicycle, or motorized scooter.  A prohibition or
restriction pertaining to bicycles, motor-driven cycles, or motorized
scooters shall be deemed to include motorized bicycles; and no
person may operate a motorized bicycle wherever that prohibition or
restriction is in force.  Notwithstanding any provisions of any
order, ordinance, or resolution to the contrary, the driver or
passengers of a disabled vehicle stopped on a freeway or expressway
may walk to the nearest exit, in either direction, on that side of
the freeway or expressway upon which the vehicle is disabled, from
which telephone or motor vehicle repair services are available.
   (b) The prohibitory regulation authorized by subdivision (a) shall
be effective when appropriate signs giving notice thereof are
erected upon any freeway or expressway and the approaches thereto.
If any portion of a county freeway or expressway is contained within
the limits of a city within the county, the county may erect signs on
that portion as required under this subdivision if the ordinance has
been approved by the city pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
1730 of the Streets and Highways Code.
   (c) No ordinance or resolution of local authorities shall apply to
any state highway until the proposed ordinance or resolution has
been presented to, and approved in writing by, the Department of
Transportation.
   (d) An ordinance or resolution adopted under this section on or
after January 1, 2005, to prohibit pedestrian access to a county
freeway or expressway shall not be effective unless it is supported
by a finding by the local authority that the freeway or expressway
does not have pedestrian facilities and pedestrian use would pose a
safety risk to the pedestrian.

See you out there. Stay safe!

Let’s say you live in San Francisco’s “newest community”, Treasure Island. Now just how on Earth are you supposed to get back home from the Outside Lands of San Francisco when the only eastbound exit from the Bay Bridge to TI is blocked by the California Highway Patrol? (Hey, are they’re still hiring? Yes!)

Seriously, unless you had a boat, you’d have to wait to get back to your non-rent-controlled abode. Click to expand:

Say hello to my little friend, a Remington Police Magnum 870P 12-gauge shotgun:

Whatever the cause of all the fuss, it didn’t last all that long.

Stay safe, Islanders!