Latest news with #SFPD
CBS News
2 days ago
- CBS News
Elderly pedestrian in San Francisco dies after being struck by scooter
A pedestrian in San Francisco died after being struck by a scooter on Friday afternoon, authorities said. The San Francisco Police Department said officers responded to the report of a vehicle collision involving a pedestrian just before 4 p.m. in the area of 6th and Market Streets. They arrived to find a 77-year-old pedestrian with life-threatening injuries and provided aid until medics arrived to take him to the hospital. The scooter rider remained on the scene and cooperated with the investigation, poilice said. The unidentified pedestrian died of his injuries at the hospital. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition said the ninth pedestrian death in 2025 highlights a need to educate others on the safe use of e-bikes and e-scooters and a shared-responsibility approach to street safety. "Streets are our largest civic space, and we all share responsibility for the safety of others, especially those who are more vulnerable than ourselves," said Claire Amable, Director of Advocacy for the SF Bicycle Coalition, in a prepared statement. "That means the most vulnerable road users should be given deference and as much space as possible; pedestrians are more vulnerable than bike and scooter users, and people biking and rolling are more vulnerable than those driving cars." There was no word on whether the alcohol, drugs, or speed were factors in the crash. Anyone with information about the incident was asked to contact SFPD at (415) 575-4444 or by texting a tip to TIP411 and beginning the message with "SFPD."
San Francisco Chronicle
10-07-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F. police ask for public's help to find missing 15-year-old girl
San Francisco police are asking the public's help in locating a 15-year-old girl who has been missing from the city since last month. Jennifer Garcia Eguigure was last seen on the 1500 block of Sunnydale Avenue in the Crocker Amazon neighborhood, police said Wednesday. Jennifer's mother reported her missing on June 6, according to police. Jennifer is described as a Hispanic female standing 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds, police said. She has brown hair and black eyes. Jennifer is known to frequent Taylor Street in the area of Civic Center in San Francisco, police said. Anyone who sees Jennifer is encouraged to call 911 and report their current location and physical description, police said, adding that anyone with information regarding Jennifer's possible whereabouts should call SFPD's missing persons line at 415-734-3070.
San Francisco Chronicle
07-07-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F. Sheriff's Office sees largest increase in ranks in a decade
The San Francisco Sheriff's Office last year saw its biggest hiring surge in at least the past decade, a welcome boost to the agency's ranks as the mayor and sheriff try to hire and keep more deputies. The office hired 96 deputies during the latest fiscal year, which ended Monday, a total that marked the highest number of hires in the past 10 fiscal years, according to an internal memo obtained by the Chronicle. The hires outpaced the number of separations for the first time since fiscal year 2018-19 and, taking into account 46 resignations and retirements, marked the largest gain in the last 10 years. The surge marked what Mayor Daniel Lurie called a milestone for the office, which, like other law enforcement agencies, has struggled to hire and retain deputies, and keep up with attrition, forcing the office to rely on overtime to deal with a staffing shortage. With the latest hires, the office's ranks include 705 deputies, short of the 920 budgeted positions. 'When I took office, I promised to deliver the core services San Franciscans rely on — starting with public safety. And that's exactly what we're doing,' Lurie said in a statement. 'We still have work to do, but this is a major milestone — and a sign that our city's comeback is well underway.' He added: 'When our sheriff's office is fully staffed, courtrooms run more efficiently, jails are safer, and deputies are better able to support neighborhoods across the city.' In an effort to prioritize public safety, Lurie in May signed an executive order that outlined steps intended to beef up the ranks within the city's police department and sheriff's office. The order calls on the sheriff's office to create a program to rehire deputies who recently retired. Other actions include the creation of a group of police and sheriff's leaders who will look at opportunities to partner on investigations and patrol duties. Increasing the ranks within the police department and sheriff's office, however, is expected to remain a difficult task for the city, as both agencies face a shortage of about 700 officers and deputies combined. Lurie and Sheriff Paul Miyamoto previously said that beefing up the agencies' ranks would allow them to cut down on overtime, avoid burnout among deputies and improve response times. A recent audit found that SFPD's overtime spending surged from $52.9 million in 2018 to $108.4 million in 2023. The increase in the ranks within the sheriff's office in the latest fiscal year marked the first gain since Miyamoto took office in 2020, boosting its staffing levels to 705 deputies. 'Our dedicated members have kept everyone safe through overtime and commitment to the community and each other while below staffing levels,' Miyamoto said in a statement. 'In my tenure as sheriff, we have always prioritized recruiting and staffing our ranks to levels that will reduce the need for overtime and the sacrifices of our members.' The mayor's office attributed the staffing boost to changes intended to speed up the hiring process, including the hiring of additional contractors and retired deputies who assist with background investigations. In January 2024, the sheriff's office also grouped a written exam with an interview and physical agility test for recruits to complete all three steps on the same day. Although Lurie implemented a hiring freeze on his first day in office to close the gap on a massive budget shortfall, the mayor has given the sheriff's office the OK to fill vacancies, his office said. Lurie's directive is the latest effort to boost staffing. Under former Mayor London Breed, San Francisco became the city with the highest starting pay for new officers in the Bay Area. The city also approved a contract that gave officers retention raises. With the boost to its ranks, the sheriff's office joins other agencies that turned a corner in recent years with staffing challenges. A 2014 national survey of 214 law enforcement agencies found that several of them hired more officers in 2023 than in any of the previous four years, according to the Police Executive Research Forum.
San Francisco Chronicle
07-07-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco to hire retired police officers for events, shelters amid staffing shortage
San Francisco will soon hire recently retired police officers to staff concerts, other events and homeless shelters — the city's latest effort to grow the ranks within its short-staffed police force, the mayor's office announced Monday. Officials said the plan, which the city and police union agreed upon late last month, is expected to free up current officers for patrol and investigative duties and cut down the use of overtime, which the department oftentimes relies on to provide security at events and locations such as shelters. The city plans to hire and deploy retirees by the fall, according to Mayor Daniel Lurie's office. The retirees — projected to total about 50 to 100, or more if necessary — will work in a part-time capacity as needed and collect an hourly salary, without benefits. They will be in uniforms and equipped like any other officer, assigned to events such as concerts, parades and festivals, as well as shelters and navigation centers, a type of shelter that offers intensive case management services. The program is open to retirees with state certifications, which generally remain active for three years after retirement. The plan represents a new strategy to beef up staffing at a time when the department faces a shortage of about 500 officers and a reliance on overtime to fill gaps. A recent audit found that SFPD's overtime spending surged from $52.9 million in 2018 to $108.4 million in 2023. Lurie and interim Police Chief Paul Yep described the move as a smart way to beef up the department's ranks to cut down on overtime, free up current officers and avoid burnout. 'We are meeting the serious staffing shortages with urgency, innovation and results,' Lurie said in part in a statement. 'It's a practical, effective solution to the staffing challenges we face,' added Yep, who developed the plan after he joined Lurie's administration as chief of public safety. The department required officers to work overtime to beef up staffing and keep crowds safe during several recent large-scale events, including the Chinese New Year Parade, NBA All-Star Weekend and San Francisco Pride celebrations. The program for retired officers is expected to accomplish the same results 'without burning out the current force' during upcoming events that are expected to draw large crowds to the Bay Area, including the 2026 Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup, Lurie's office said. Tracy McCray, president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, lauded the program as a 'great example of collaboration between the mayor, the SFPD and the SFPOA to address our staffing challenges in a thoughtful' way. 'This program will help ensure public safety during large-scale events while we continue working to rebuild and grow the department,' McCray said in a statement. Lurie first announced the idea for the program in May, when he outlined several plans to grow the ranks within the police department and sheriff's office. Lurie's directive also called for the creation of a group of police and sheriff's officials who will look at opportunities to partner on investigations and patrol duties. Lurie's office also announced a surge in interest in the police force. In the first six months of the year, the department received 2,155 applications, compared to 1,311 during the same period last year. The department also is on track to hire more officers from other agencies this year than last year, the mayor's office said, adding that the department hired 30 officers from other agencies during the fiscal year that ended a week ago, compared to eight during the previous fiscal year. The department also is speeding up the hiring process. This month the department will host 'one-step testing days,' which will allow applicants to complete multiple steps, including fingerprinting for background checks, physical abilities tests and oral interviews in one day. The efforts are the city's latest to attract and retain officers. Under former Mayor London Breed, San Francisco became the city with the highest starting pay for new officers in the Bay Area. The city also approved a contract that gave officers retention raises. The sheriff's office has seen similar progress in beefing up its ranks. The office hired 96 deputies during the latest fiscal year, the highest total and, with 64 retirements and resignations taken into account, the largest gain in the past 10 fiscal years. Lurie's office attributed the staffing boost to changes intended to speed up the office's hiring process. 'The message is simple: We are rebuilding the ranks, and it's working,' Lure said Monday.
San Francisco Chronicle
29-06-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘Rights are under attack': S.F. Pride parade kicks off with mix of flamboyance, resistance
As San Francisco's month-long LGBTQ+ Pride celebration culminated Sunday in a massive rainbow-laden party packing city streets, event leaders made one thing clear: These were no ordinary festivities. President Donald Trump's recent assault on queer and transgender protections prompted some of San Francisco Pride's biggest corporate sponsors to flee, raising important questions about the iconic event's future. Should it become more of a protest than a party? And, present political climate aside, could a budget shortfall force organizers to scale things back? With Pride at an inflexion point of sorts, prominent officials tried to strike a delicate balance: voice defiance against many of the Trump administration's LGBTQ+-related policies, all while trumpeting Pride's potential as a unifying force during turbulent times. The result was a one-of-a-kind event that reflected the complexities of the moment and epitomized this year's theme of 'Queer Joy is Resistance.' 'This Pride hits different than recent prides,' Delaware Rep. Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender person elected to Congress, said in an interview with the Chronicle as she visited San Francisco for the Pride events. But, she added, it's also a moment to remember how far the LGBTQ+ movement has come, and to 'rediscover our superpower as a community.' As hundreds of thousands of spectators flooded Market Street and the Civic Center for one of the nation's largest Pride parades, they saw the zany antics and flamboyant fun that have long been Pride's signature. There was a lone nudist applying sunscreen, a group of dancers in glittering cowboy hats bobbing to Lady Gaga's 'Applause,' and rainbow-bedazzled attendees wearing Pride flags as butterfly wings. Through it all, somber reminders of the challenges LGBTQ+ people and other minority groups face peppered the festivities. At one point, San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto and a handful of SFPD officers passed through a mostly silent crowd, passing out rainbow flags. Wearing a purple hologram jacket, State Sen. Scott Wiener waved to the crowd atop a truck trailer as he held a sign that read, 'ICE out of SF.' Emblazoned across the T-shirts of San Francisco City Attorney's Office employees were the words, 'See You in Court,' with the Statue of Liberty and a rainbow flag. This was a not-so-subtle reference to the eight lawsuits filed by the city against the Trump administration. 'As the Trump administration violates the Constitution and undermines the rule of law every day, we have to defend our city and our communities,' City Attorney David Chiu said while riding atop a dinosaur float. 'Everyone's rights are under attack.' By taking a more obstinate stance than in recent years, Sunday's festivities conjured memories of Pride celebrations from the 1970s and '80s — a time when politics were at the forefront, and corporate sponsors remained an afterthought. The throwback vibe seemed warranted. After all, just days after the 10th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling that recognized same-sex marriage nationwide, many LGBTQ+ people feel quite under attack. 'Trump is trying to take away the rights of human beings,' said Kristina Corrozza, who waited 30 years to come to their first Pride. 'San Franciscans won't stand for it.' Just in the five months since Trump took office for a second, non-consecutive term, he has removed transgender people from the military, prevented federal insurance programs from paying for gender-affirmation surgeries for young people, and attempted to keep transgender athletes out of girls and women's sports. Then the Southern Baptist Convention, empowered by the overturning of Roe v. Wade, set its sights this month on ending same-sex marriage. Some agendas, like Trump's move to rename the Harvey Milk naval ship, have felt like a direct shot at San Francisco — a city that has long taken pride in being a bastion for the LGBTQ+ community. In the process, S.F. Pride organizers had to reckon with a sobering truth: Major corporations tend to value moving product over inclusivity. Since Trump was elected again, LGBTQ+ allyship has become increasingly unprofitable. This helps explain why five major corporate donors — including Comcast and Anheuser-Busch — pulled out of the event this year. Despite a late fundraising push spearheaded by smaller businesses, S.F. Pride entered Sunday about $180,000 short of its $2.3 million fundraising target. 'If we, somehow, in these next 10 days, can find another $175,000, and people show up on Pride Sunday, and our beverage program does well and our donations increase at the gate, we might get through this difficult period,' Suzanne Ford, the executive director of San Francisco Pride, recently told the Chronicle. All that raised the stakes for what was once a lighthearted celebration of the LGBTQ+ community. For many of the families who flocked to Market Street and the Civic Center for parade floats, musical acts and general pandemonium, Sunday's festivities represented a vital opportunity — not just to show the world that inclusivity is worth celebrating, but to reaffirm that political oppression can only make allies stronger, corporate sponsors or not. Marcella Pesavento lives in the neighborhood and walks her dog by every parade. But for this Pride, she stopped and climbed atop a traffic bollard to show her support. 'With everything going on with Trump, it feels important to stand up and be ourselves,' she said. 'It makes people feel they are not alone.'
