Tag: San Francisco Sheriff

What to do during an Active Shooting?

What do you do when there is an Active Shooter? How do you react? Violence can occur for many reasons whether it’s a violent rage, hatred, a disgruntled employee, or mental illness.

In many cases, there is no pattern or method to the selection of victims by an active shooter, and these situations are, by their very nature, unpredictable and evolve quickly

This Twenty to Ready video helps you know what to do if you find yourself in a mass shooting incident.

The Run Hide Fight video demonstrates possible actions to take if confronted with an active shooter scenario. The video also shows how to assist authorities once law enforcement enters the scene.

RUN and escape, if possible.

  • Getting away from the shooter or shooters is the top priority.
  • Leave your belongings behind and get away.
  • Help others escape, if possible, but evacuate regardless of whether others agree to follow.
  • Warn and prevent individuals from entering an area where the active shooter may be.
  • Call 911 when you are safe, and describe shooter, location, and weapons.

HIDE, if escape is not possible.

  • Get out of the shooter’s view and stay very quiet.
  • Silence all electronic devices and make sure they won’t vibrate.
  • Lock and block doors, close blinds, and turn off lights.
  • Don’t hide in groups- spread out along walls or hide separately to make it more difficult for the shooter.
  • Try to communicate with police silently. Use text message or social media to tag your location, or put a sign in a window.
  • Stay in place until law enforcement gives you the all clear.
  • Your hiding place should be out of the shooter’s view and provide protection if shots are fired in your direction.

FIGHT as an absolute last resort.

  • Commit to your actions and act as aggressively as possible against the shooter.
  • Recruit others to ambush the shooter with makeshift weapons like chairs, fire extinguishers, scissors, books, etc.
  • Be prepared to cause severe or lethal injury to the shooter.
  • Throw items and improvise weapons to distract and disarm the shooter.

“Law enforcement will respond to save lives and stop the shooting. These are the heroes that run towards danger, while everyone else is running to safety,” said Ken Lomba, President of the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association.

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Concerns build about Violence on the Chinese Community

Concerns are building about violence against the Chinese Community becoming the new norm. With decriminalization of laws, extreme leniency and little consequences for crime in San Francisco, will attacks on the Chinese Community go unnoticed in SF’s lenient Justice System?

Sasanna Yee, representative from Communities As One
Sasanna Yee
Communities As One

Sasanna Yee, “Unfortunately, violence on the Chinese community is becoming the norm. It is occurring almost daily and increasing in brutality. Why is that? This is a serious problem that needs to be examined and stopped. How can we bring more peace and safety to communities living in fear of the next attack?”

Ken Lomba SFDSA President
Ken Lomba
SFDSA President

“I believe there is a cycle of crimes that relate to this starting with illegal drug use. Since Prop 47 when felony drug possession and felony property crimes were changed to misdemeanor crimes it had reduced the length of the prison sentence to, in some cases, a citation and probation. Couple that with extreme reformist district attorneys declining to prosecute crimes, dismissing criminal charges, and offering lenient plea bargains is another issue. Lack of consequences has emboldened criminals. The ease of illegal drug use with highly addictive drugs perpetuates car break-ins to fund the habit and in some cases it perpetuates violent acts because of the effects of the illegal drugs. And on top of that, there is organized crime taking advantage of San Francisco’s leniency on crime. All of this puts San Franciscans in danger,” says Ken Lomba President of the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association.

Grandma Huang Popo photo by Sasanna Yee
Grandma Huang Popo photo by her Granddaughter Sasanna Yee

On Wednesday, Jan 9th, an 88 year old elderly woman, Grandma Huang Popo Wong was clinging to life after she was brutally assaulted at a park near her home in San Francisco’s Visitacion Valley.

Explaining the photo Marlene Tran said, “Granddaughter, Sasanna Yee’s, capture of the TENDER moments between her Grandma Wong (on bed) and Grandma Yee (sadly, recently passed) makes all of us think of our elderly relatives and especially concerned because of the recent brutal crimes against our Chinese seniors!”

Leif Dautch for District Attorney
Leif Dautch candidate for District Attorney

Leif Dautch candidate for District Attorney stated, ”We must send a clear message that violence against the elderly or targeted at a particular ethnic community will not be tolerated in San Francisco, and we must work to expand language access for 911 dispatchers, police officers, and prosecutors so that all victims of crime feel comfortable reporting. Prosecutors can and should explore a wide array of charges for the attackers, from robbery and aggravated assault to enhancements for great bodily injury and elder abuse. These attacks are examples of why I’ll create an Elder Justice Coordinator in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office to oversee prosecutions involving elderly victims, to coordinate services, and to interface with community groups and leaders. The status quo simply cannot stand. ”

Sasanna Yee Communities As One
Visitacion Valley Public and Personal Safety Workshop

Sasanna Yee conducted a Visitacion Valley Public and Personal Safety Workshop to empower seniors to speak up. Many seniors shared their experiences of being robbed and bullied while living in fear in their own community.

The way to fix this is first to elect a stable and well balance district attorney like Leif Dautch. One that will be a working district attorney not a politician (she will jump at every political issue) and not a public defender (he will be focused on how to release the criminals). The next step is we have to tighten up some of the laws that were changed under Prop 47 and enhance penalties for violating ankle monitoring and for violating probation. There also needs to be an escalation in punishment for repeat offenders to deter future crimes to “slow down the revolving door.”

With a District Attorneys election coming in November, two out of four of the candidates being a Politician and a Public Defender it may get worse because their policies may encourage crime. The San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association vetted all the candidates and found the best one to be Leif Dautch for District Attorney.

“Paid for by the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association PAC.  Not authorized by a candidate or committee controlled by a candidate.  Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.”

SF Rotary Club honors San Francisco Sr. Deputy Sheriff for Saving a Woman’s Life

Each year, the SF Rotary Club honors an outstanding representative from each of San Francisco’s public safety departments — Sheriff, Fire, Police, and Coast Guard — with their Emergency Services Award. Yesterday afternoon, the Rotary Club honored our very own Sr. Deputy M. Clauzel for bravery in the face of grave danger.

In the fall of 2015, while off duty, Sr. Deputy Clauzel martialed the aid of passersby to help pull the victim of a terrible car crash away from burning wreckage to safety. He then assisted in directing traffic around the scene of the accident. Sheriff Vicki Hennessy recently wrote of his actions: “In addition to saving the life of Brianna Vargas, Sr. Deputy Clauzel’s quick thinking and leadership ability contained the accident and prevented other motorists from crashing into it.”  Read the full story about San Francisco Deputy Sheriff saving a Woman’s Life here. Continue reading “SF Rotary Club honors San Francisco Sr. Deputy Sheriff for Saving a Woman’s Life” →

San Francisco Sheriff’s Deputies can patrol streets

San Francisco sheriff’s deputies can patrol the streets of The City just like beat cops. Since Aug. 14, 2015, the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department has been certified by the state’s police training body — the California Commission on Police Officers’ Standards and Training — to train deputies for street patrol duties.

That means that all sheriff’s deputies who are trained for patrol duty are eligible work the streets like any other city police officer. But the move may also impact calls for increased numbers of police officers, as certified deputies could now augment an overburdened police force in areas where police presence is lacking.

Alexis Blaylock, a spokesperson for POST, said the new certification means deputies trained in the field training programs may be not only performing patrol duties, but also apply for lateral hires at the police department.

“SFPD now can choose to accept San Francisco sheriff [deputies from the field training program] … because it has been POST certified,” she said.

Until now, the main role of the roughly 840 deputies was to run The City’s jail system. By comparison, sheriff’s deputies operate the jails and patrol unincorporated areas in California’s other 57 counties.

Mirkarimi said the expanded patrol powers of his department could significantly enhance law enforcement coverage in San Francisco.

“Where there are no foot patrols due to insufficient staff capacity, that can change. Where there is no law enforcement presence on MUNI, that can change,” said Mirkarimi in a statement. “Where neighborhoods feel the neglect and are resigned to high crime norms, that can change. Where community policing lacks … that can change. Where community festivals and mom-and-pop street fairs are charged exorbitant rates for mandatory police protection, that can change. Where Treasure Island and our parks suffer due to a limited law enforcement response, that can change.”

“As the second largest law enforcement agency in San Francisco, I found it counter-intuitive that other agencies and city officials treated the [deputies] as just jailers,” Mirkarimi said. “Decades ago, an inherent public safety caste system emerged at significant expense to the taxpayer by undermining collective public safety planning and budgeting.”

Training will begin as soon as a handful of deputies get POST certification for field training. The department will then begin running its own in-house field training program, Mirkarimi said.

By on Examiner August 26, 2015 6:00 am

San Francisco Senior Deputy Sheriff Barbari Hailed as Hero after Detaining Suspect at Airport

San Francisco Senior Deputy Sheriff Barbari is something of a hero after he intervened in an incident at Midway International Airport in Chicago.  Senior Deputy Barbari is currently assigned to the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital conducting general law enforcement duties and security of the hospital ward.

We’ve all heard the stories of unruly airline passengers. This latest was a San Francisco man taken into custody by Chicago police, accused of assaulting an airline supervisor. Those officers had help from someone used to dicey situations who stepped in when no one else would. Continue reading “San Francisco Senior Deputy Sheriff Barbari Hailed as Hero after Detaining Suspect at Airport” →

San Francisco Deputy Sheriff Mercado rendered aide to two children

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. Continue reading “San Francisco Deputy Sheriff Mercado rendered aide to two children” →