First Fijian police Officer Retires…
Officer Mukesh "Mike" Chandra, known by his friend and peers as Fiji Mike and Mike the Cop is presumably the first Fiji born Police Officer in the United States, he retires from the San Francisco Police Department after 32 years of honorable service.
He was born in Fiji Islands and migrated to United States in 1971.He graduated from South San Francisco High School and attended College of San Mateo and San Jose State University. He started his law enforcement career with Department of Corrections as a Correctional Officer. He joined the SF Airport Police in 1979 and in 1998 joined the San Francisco Police Department. During his tenure he was assigned to all facets of duties in law enforcement including the Inspectors Bureau, Auto theft detail, Hostage Negotiator, Field Training Officer and Gang Unit with CDC.
He served on the Board Of Directors for San Francisco Police Officers association two years. He loves sports he participated in numerous Police Olympics playing soccer, softball and tennis.
Chandra will not be completely retired; he has taken a position in the private sector as CEO and President of Baystar Security Patrol, which he founded in 1979.
Enjoy a much deserved retirement, Mike, and thank you for your service to the department and the POA.
Occupy This…
I wanted to give a big tip of the hat to each and every member of this department and association who in any way has been involved with the downtown San Francisco and Justin Hermann Plaza /Ferry Plaza proliferation of citizen’s who have decided to take up residence in our fine city…
The cops have done their usual outstanding job of insuring these fine citizens’ first amendment rights to engage in free speech and like practices while at the same time acting as targets and punching bags for vitriolic verbal abuse from the same people we are protecting.
There have been many marches in many areas of our city by this disgruntled group of citizens of whom, I believe, less than 15% are true residents of the city. And that estimate includes the out-of-control takeover mob at the Police Commission meeting on Wednesday, October 19, 2011.
A great majority of these folks are the usual “rent-a-mob” crew from the “have-a-demo-will-travel” school of dedicated causes.
For many of the veteran members of this department, these demonstrations of civil disobedience and passive-aggressive behavior are nothing new. The demonstrations have become an integral fabric of the San Francisco culture and community. Our department (perhaps outside of New York City) handles more demonstrations and crowd control actions than any big city in America and we are very good at what we do.
For some of the younger and less-senior members of our department, and maybe some who are lateral transfers, I can only imagine what an eye opener this has been!
There is a very concentrated effort on the part of the department to insure First Amendment Rights and like actions on the part of these demonstrators while at the same time adhering to the rules and implementations of law and our department policies and procedures. There is a very fine line between the two, and the philosophies surrounding either side of the equation.
How long will the city allow these bands of demonstrators to use our city’s parks, plazas and like areas as residential grounds?
How will the city differentiate between established homeless people living on the street and demonstrators who have taken impromptu residence in the aforementioned areas?
How will the city address the public health and sanitation concerns caused by these newest residents?
How much will the demonstrators cost the taxpayers of this city in terms of police and public works overtimes?
How will the city leaders plan and implement the removal of these campsites once the city has decided it has had enough or is there no end in sight to their occupation?
How will the leaders of this department protect its members from the onslaught of complaints headed our way? (Or will it be up to the POA to once again be the lone defender of our members?)
One of the more troubling sights I have experienced during these demonstrations is the participation of one of our esteemed San Francisco Labor Council groups, SEIU members marching in support of the “Stop Police Brutality, Repression & the Criminalization of a Generation” demonstration held Saturday, October 22, 2011at noon which started at 3rd and Palou streets and at one point stopped in front of the Hall of Justice.
I almost puked when I saw a contingent of about 15-20 clown heads proudly wearing their purple and yellow signature SEIU T-shirts chanting anti-police slogans along with the rest of the Einsteins in the crowd.
It is always refreshing and uplifting to see a group of Tim Paulson’s Labor Council minions rise up against another local labor organization.
We have seen it before in the not all too recent past when the San Francisco Labor Council came out in loud vocal support for the cold blooded killers of Sgt. John V. Young.
We see it now again and trust me; these one-way jerks will be vocally against again in the future. It’s what they do and how they are.
Time and time again, the cops have been called to protect these SEIU members when that have a pro-labor rally or when they are demonstrating against some employer or entity in this town that they feel are not treating them fairly.
They have in the past evoked the name and members of the POA into their speeches when talking about labor solidarity when it has been convenient or beneficial to them.
Then they turn right around and spit in the face of every cop in this town. What a bunch of one-way Adam Henrys.
(Adam Henry as related to me many years ago by a forgotten party was an individual of questionable integrity and a perennial pain in the side to normal, reasonable people, especially cops).
I spoke to one these finer people about this and was told, “We’re not demonstrating against you individually, just as a group in general.”
Well Boy Howdy! That just made me feel so much better! It’s nice to know that these folks are in the business and practice of profiling cops…at least someone can engage in the behavior of profiling people and get away with it. They don’t for one second have to defend themselves from the practice. In fact, they appear to laud it.
Imagine you were a cop assigned to this demo, having to listen to this blatant crap over megaphones and bullhorns for hours on end just to look into the crowd and see some supposedly city of San Francisco labor group marching and screaming against you and your fellow officers. One might find that just a tad sad, disgusting and somewhat frustrating…just another day in the life of a San Francisco cop.
Funny, one of the more “cherished” union slogans is, “An injury to one is an injury to all! What unmitigated horse crap!
I never once saw or heard from any SEIU group or delegation when Isaac Espinoza, Nick-Tomasito Birco or Bryan Tuvera were killed in the Line of Duty…
I guess in the midget mind of Tim Paulson or his like-minded minions when it comes to matters like this, injuries or deaths do not quite cut the mustard when cops are the victims.
In their eyes, we can ONLY be seen as the enemy.
If I wasn’t a compassionate, caring person, I might tell them to all to go to hell. But since I am, I won’t!
I actually found a group I despise more than the Boston Red Sox…and that’s no easy task!
