In June of 2015, an attempted robbery was thwarted by a quick-acting San Francisco Sr. Deputy Sheriff V. Chew when he observed a subject fleeing and others giving chase several blocks from the scene of a robbery.
The robbery, unbeknownst to Sr. Deputy Chew, originated outside the Civic Center headquarters of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Sr. Deputy Chew, who was driving in an unmarked vehicle, was able to catch up to and detain the subject. Kudos to Sr. Deputy Chew!
The San Francisco Sheriff’s Department (SFSD), officially the City and County of San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, is the sheriff’s department for the City and County of San Francisco. The department has 850 deputized personnel, and support staff.
The primary function of the SFSD is to operate the system of county jails where there is an average population of 1,200 inmates, and a number of individuals on supervised release programs.
The SFSD also provides law enforcement and security services in the following locations in San Francisco:
- the civil and criminal courts
- City Hall
- the Emergency Communications & Dispatch center
- Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Laguna Honda Hospital, the Public Utilities Commission, the MTA and several public health clinics
The current sheriff is Vicki Hennessy, the first female sheriff in the city-county (and the second in the nine-county Bay Area, after Virginia Clark of nearby Santa Clara County, as well as the fifth female sheriff in California, joining Margaret Mims [Fresno County], Laurie Craig [Glenn County] and Sandra Hutchens [Orange County]).
The SFSD is a separate organization from the San Francisco Police Department. However, SFSD deputies and SFPD officers have all attended a POST-mandated police academy, and are duly sworn California peace officers enforcing state laws and San Francisco Municipal Ordinances.
On February 10, 2015, at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, the Rotary Club hosted its annual luncheon to honor the outstanding services of nominated personnel from the San Francisco Sheriff’s, Police and Fire Department’s, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Sheriff Mirkarimi nominated San Francisco Deputy Sheriff B. Mercado for his act of extraordinary service in rendering prompt and crucial aide to two children, ages four and one, left unattended in a parked car with all of the windows rolled up. 
On Friday, January 31, 2014, San Francisco Sheriff’s Deputies Majano and Goodman were on-duty assigned to the San Francisco Sheriff’s Patrol Division working at the San Francisco General Hospital Campus.
San Francisco Deputy Sheriff Gomez was honored for her heroic actions of March 27, 2012. Deputy Gomez was at a BART station platform waiting for the train to commute to work. She noted that the next train was due to arrive in one minute. At that time a young man ran across the platform and fell onto the train tracks below the platform. San Francisco Deputy Sheriff Gomez immediately climbed down onto the tracks to rescue the young man from the arriving train. Another person came to Deputy Gomez’s aid and together they began to lift the man up to return him to the platform. Two more people came to assist and were successful in lifting him back onto the platform.