RICHMOND DISTRICT STATION NEWSLETTER
May 11th, 2017
Volume 1, Issue 8
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CAPTAIN’S MESSAGE
“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” – LYDIA, AGE 5
I’m going to keep my message short this week. I wanted to thank everyone who sent their amazing artwork to the station. We have all really enjoyed looking at it, and it has been a real eye-opener to see how we are perceived by children!
I decided it would be unfair to choose a single winner for the contest. Instead, we picked our favorites from all of the submissions. Here they are, in no particular order. – Captain Alexa O’Brien
NEXT COMMUNITY MEETING
The next Community Meeting will be held on TUESDAY, MAY 16TH 2017 AT 6:00 PM. It will be held at Richmond police station: 461 6TH AVENUE, SAN FRANCISCO CA 94118 in the community room.
GUEST: Mr. Mohammed Nuru from the Department of Public Works will be at the meeting to discuss Prop. E, which passed and becomes effective July 1st, 2017. Prop. E transfers responsibility for trees and side-walk repairs from the property owner to the City. If you have questions, this is a great opportunity to ask them!
INCIDENTS IN THE RICHMOND DISTRICT THIS WEEK
BURGLARY SUSPECT RUNS STRAIGHT TO RICHMOND STATION
9TH AVENUE & BALBOA STREET
05/03/2017 5:20 PM
Richmond District officers were dispatched to a call of a collision between a vehicle and a bicycle. In an unusual twist, the rider of the bicycle had reportedly fled the scene after the collision. Witnesses provided dis-patch with a detailed description of the suspect, and numerous officers responded to the scene.
During the investigation, a wit-ness approached the officers and told them he had seen the suspect steal the bicycle from his neighbor’s garage. The witness told officers he had tried to stop the suspect, but the suspect left the scene quickly riding his newly procured bicycle. The officers located the owner of the bicycle, who confirmed that his bicycle had been stolen and crashed.
A short time later, dispatch in-formed the officers that the suspect was seen in the area of the Muriel Leff Mini Park (directly behind Richmond Station), and that he had been seen jumping the fence into Richmond Station’s parking lot. Additional witness told officers that the suspect was seen running down 6th Avenue. The officers per-formed a systematic search of the area.
The suspect was located hiding inside a portable toilet on Anza Street. Surveillance camera footage confirmed that the suspect had in fact run through the station’s parking lot when at-tempting to make his escape.
The suspect received medical attention as a result of injuries sustained during the traffic collision. He was treated, and then booked into County Jail for burglary.
SUSPECTED DRUG DEALER RIDING BICYCLE TRIES TO OUTRUN COPS…AND LOSES
STANYAN STREET & MCALLISTER STREET
05/04/2017 3:50 AM
Two Richmond District officers were on patrol when a bicyclist darted out in front of their vehicle. Due to his erratic riding, and the fact that his bicycle lacked the necessary reflectors and lights needed to ride in darkness, the officers decided to stop him. When the officers ordered the suspect to stop, he told them he had done nothing wrong. He then continued to ride into Golden Gate Park in an attempt to evade arrest.
The officers followed the bicycle into the park, where the suspect rode into the bushes and ditched his bicycle. After a short search of the area, the officers found the suspect hiding under a bush. He was taken into custody without a struggle.
A criminal history check of the suspect showed that he was on parole. It was discovered that the suspect was in possession of a large amount of illegal narcotics and equipment commonly used by drug dealers.
When being interviewed, the suspect plainly admitted to trying to outrun the officers as he knew he would be arrested. He was correct. The suspect was subsequently booked at County Jail.
NICE DAY IN GOLDEN GATE PARK TURNS INTO NIGHTMARISH ORDEAL
STOW LAKE DRIVE & MLK JR DRIVE
05/06/2017 11:26 AM
The victim in this incident was photographing the beautiful scenery of Golden Gate Park at Stow Lake. She placed her camera on a tripod and was ready to take a photograph when she was approached from behind by a suspect. This cowardly crook pushed the victim over and pulled her camera bag from her shoulder. He then grabbed her camera and tripod, and ran back to his waiting get-away car.
Richmond District officers responded to the scene and searched the area, but unfortunately the suspects had already left the area. The victim sustained an abrasion to her arm as a result of being pushed to the ground.
The suspect is described as a white male adult approximately 20 years of age. He was approximately 5’6” tall and 125 lbs, with brown hair, and was wearing a dark baseball cap. He fled the scene in a silver 2009 Honda 4-door vehicle.
This incident is still being investigated by the Richmond Station Investigation Team. Hopefully an arrest will be made in the near future.
SUSPECT ARRESTED AFTER BREAKING BUS WINDOW
05/07/2017 6:00 PM
FULTON STREET & 45TH AVENUE
A hard working MUNI bus operator was forced to call 911 when a suspect broke a window on his bus. The suspect, who was reportedly intoxicated, appeared to have broken the win-dow for no apparent reason. He fled the scene prior to Richmond District officers arriving on scene.
While officers were taking the vandalism report, an assault was reported approximately 5 blocks away. Dispatch provided a description of the suspect, and informed officers that he had attacked an elderly woman. Officers responded to the scene to search for the suspect.
The officers located the elderly female and discovered that there had been a verbal argument, but she had not been assaulted. The suspect was also located nearby by responding officers. The officers realized that this suspect matched the description of the vandalism suspect. The officers attempted to detain the suspect, but he was initially uncooperative and re-fused to comply with the officers instructions. Eventually the suspect was placed in hand-cuffs.
The driver of the MUNI bus identified the detained suspect as the person who had broken the window. The suspect was booked at County Jail for the vandalism, as well as public intoxication and creating a pub-lic nuisance.
RICHMOND STATION’S OFFICERS OF THE WEEK: Officer Whitfield
Officer Whitfield is a San Francisco native, born and raised. As a child he attended Sheridan Elementary School, Aptos Middle School and Lincoln High School.
He has been a member of the San Francisco Police Department for almost 16 years. Prior to being employed by the SFPD, he was a cadet with the Sheriffs Department.
Officer Whitfield has worked in several different stations within the Department. Before he called Richmond Station ‘home,’ he trained at Mission Station and spent many years at Bayview Station.
As an avid Golden State Warriors fan, Officer Whitfield regularly attends basketball games. He also likes to travel and hang out with friends and family.
Officer Whitfield’s Safety Tip of the Week: “When a police vehicle is behind you with its lights and siren on, it is important to yield to the right side of the road as soon as the maneuver can safely be made. This opens up a lane and makes it safer for us to respond to emergencies. It is also required by law.”
Awesome drawings!
Thanks for shar-ing.