Police Blotter
Captain Joe Engler’s Message Residents, merchants, and visitors, Every day, the San Francisco Police Department and all of the City agencies are working together, looking at our business practices and processes and adapting to the challenges presented by the Coronavirus pandemic. When it comes to your safety, this remains our number one priority. When dangers arise that threaten you and your loved ones, your Northern Station officers will answer the call for assistance each and every time. Several measures have been taken to protect your police work force from becoming infected or exposed to the virus. Work schedules have been adjusted to reduce the amount of time that officers from different watches are in direct contact with one another. Dispatch, whenever feasible, is diverting calls made to our non-emergency number 415-553-0123 to an over-the-phone report writing center at our headquarters. Social media, e-mail and this newsletter is reminding the public that reports can also be filed on-line at https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org Police officers, firefighters, doctors and nurses are all critical first responders that must be protected as much as possible from exposure to the Coronavirus. Protective equipment, frequent hand washing and sanitizing workspaces and equipment has become the new normal around the police station. Maintaining good health is critical for each police officer to accomplish the old adage “to exercise good officer safety, because if you get injured, you can’t help someone else.” The most important partner in getting through this challenging period of time is the public-at-large. Making good decisions, modeling good behavior and speaking up when you see your neighbors ignoring the social distancing protocols is a critical piece of the solution. There is simply not enough first responders to address persons who choose to defy the order to eliminate social contact with non-family members. If I were to estimate what I am seeing, 95% of the members of our several neighborhoods are doing the right thing and have changed their behaviors to combat the spread of the virus. If all of us, whether we are a first responder or just a good neighbor, can take a minute and give a corrective shout out to those placing us all at a greater risk through social interaction, this epidemic will resolve quicker with fewer casualties. Thanks for the help.
.JE