Richmond Station police activity: Police Commission meets in the Richmond District Wednesday; saying ‘so long’ to a solo; officers honored; Tea Garden tantrum; liar, liar stealing wire; Cabrillo peccadillo

This is an excerpt of the newsletter of San Francisco Police Capt. Keith Sanford of Richmond Station. This newsletter covers the week ending Friday, Aug. 26 and was distributed Tuesday, Aug. 30.

Captain’s Message

Richmond Police Station will host the monthly Police Commission Meeting at Roosevelt Middle School located at 460 Arguello Blvd. SF., 08/31/2011, 6:00pm. Come and meet your Police Commissioners and the SFPD Executive Staff.

The monthly Police Community Relations Forum will be held at Richmond Police Station in the community room at 1pm and 7pm on September 20th, 2011. Refreshment will be served at both meetings. We will be discussing burglaries, auto break-ins, traffic concerns and open discussion topics.

Also in consideration are discussion venues for events that take place inside the Golden Gate Park and how city departments, event promoters and community can work together in providing an interactive plan(s) to make events safer and enjoyable. I will provide dates, times and location for these anticipated meetings and I look forward to community/business participation.

Target areas for our traffic motorcycle officers (SOLOs) and traffic cars are the Geary Blvd, Arguello, Lake, Fulton and California. We will conduct a traffic enforcement operation on Geary Blvd. and Arguello/Palm during the week of September 11-17th, 2011.

One of our SOLO Motorcycle Officers, James Maginniss will retire on August 31st, 2011. James has served with the SFPD for over 32 years. James worked with me in the Traffic Company when I rode the motorcycle with him as a Lieutenant and approximately 80 other motorcycle officers. I will never forget the members of the Traffic Company as I learned to appreciate all the work these officers do, from traffic enforcement, major escorts and all the community events citywide. James will be missed but not forgotten. “Once a Solo always a Solo”

Two SFPD members will be honored at the Annual Geary Blvd Merchant’s Association luncheon, hosted by David Heller, on September 14th. Officers Bob Ramos from Richmond Police Station and Richard Jue from Taraval Police Station will be the honored guests for their outstanding commitment to the citizens of San Francisco. Both Bob and Richard have over 50 combined years working in our city and currently are assigned to patrol the Golden Gate Park. These two officers continually interact with our tourists, homeless and residents providing ideas, opinions, discussions, enforcement and outreach. Congratulations to both Bob Ramos and Richard Jue for all your continued efforts and commitment to our communities!

Richmond Station distributes an email newsletter every Friday. Our newsletter, which is sent to several hundred email addresses, contains information about recent crimes, arrests and upcoming events in the District. To be added to this list, please email us at SFPD.RICHMOND.STATION@SFGOV.ORG.

Captain Keith Sanford

Keith.Sanford@sfgov.org

Noteworthy Arrests

On 08/20 at 6:00pm, plainclothes officers were in the area of the Japanese Tea Garden when they observed the suspect yelling obscenities at a nearby family. The suspect then continued to walk and he made eye contact with the plainclothes officers in their vehicle. The suspect then swore at the officers who then got out of the vehicle to speak with the male. The officers observed several symptoms which lead them to believe that the suspect was under the influence of a narcotic. The officers found a fixed blade knife in his pocket. The 49 year old male, who has prior arrests for assault and robbery, was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and being under the influence in a public place.

On 08/23 at 5:15pm, a witness called dispatch to report a male breaking into a car in the area of MLK Drive and 9th Ave. The witness provided a description of the suspect and vehicle he was breaking into. Based on the description of the suspect, officers recognized him to be an individual who had been arrested in the past for auto burglary. Officers located the suspect now sitting in his own vehicle with a backpack containing the victim’s property, which included a laptop. The 25 year old male was charged with burglary and possession of stolen property.

On 08/24 at 5:53pm, a witness called in to report suspicious activity in the area of 30th Ave and California. The caller was observing the suspects standing near an open manhole cover pulling out wire from underground. The caller stated that these males did not appear to be legitimate workers. Officers responded and detained the suspects who had pulled out a long length of wire. One of the suspects attempted to tell the officers that they had a work order for this job, but that was determined to be false. The 3 suspects, a 52 year old male, a 46 year old male and a 31 year old female were charged with burglary, possession of stolen property and conspiracy.

Noteworthy Incidents

Between 08/20/11, 10pm and 08/21/11, 9am on the 4000 block of Balboa, a suspect gained entry into a restaurant by removing the louvered glass above the front door. The suspect took cash from the register.

On 08/23/11 at 5:45am, the victim was on Cabrillo towards LaPlaya to go to the MUNI bus stop. As she walked she noticed a light colored vehicle parked with it’s headlights on, illuminating the bus stop. She noticed the suspect standing on the passenger side of the vehicle and kept an eye on him as she passed. The suspect then came up from behind her and tried to take her bag from her shoulder but was unsuccessful and he then pushed her to the ground. This caused her to drop the back which the suspect then took and ran back to the vehicle and fled on Cabrillo. The suspect was described as a male, 40 to 50 years of age, with thinning hair.

On 08/23/11 between 9:30am and 6:15pm on the 3200 block of Clay St, a suspect gained entry into an apartment by prying open the front door. The suspect took jewelry, a laptop and an e-reader.

On 08/23/11 between 1pm and 2:20pm on the 500 block of 9th Ave, a suspect gained entry into a residence under construction via an unlocked rear door. The suspect took tools.

On 08/25/11 between 10:15am and 9:45pm on the 2400 block of Post St, a suspect gained entry into a residence, possibly through an unlocked window. The suspect took jewelry and a camera.