Occupy this…
I want to start by thanking the rank-and-file men and women of this department for their outstanding response to the “Occupy” demonstrations that impacted our city on Friday, January 13, 2012. It was an all-day ordeal, lasting from the very early morning until the late hours of the night.
Suffice it to say, our members were busy trying to keep up and quell the disturbances caused by these so called “peaceful” demonstrators as they made their way from downtown institutions to blocking intersections and causing complete havoc for ordinary people just trying to live their lives, go to work, earn their daily bread, and then go back home to their families.
From approximately five in the morning until almost midnight, our officers exhausted themselves by doing their very best to keep order, clear intersections, maintain the smooth flow of traffic, and keep from getting hit or spit upon by these demonstrators, and all in the name and effort of maintaining First Amendment Rights for these very same people who have designated us as “enemies of the 99%” and “tools of the 1%.”
In the driving rain, our officers followed these very special people around the downtown area of San Francisco while they took over some buildings and attempted to take over others during the course of their “work” day.
Several times during the day, our officers responded to other officers’ calls for back-up or support as they were being over-run or overwhelmed by the crowds.
Later in the evening, this fine group of individuals breeched the empty, defunct Cathedral Hill Hotel, ran through the hotel and went into rooms and started throwing items out of the windows and onto the street towards our officers. It was later learned that among the items being tossed out of the windows were Bibles.
The response from our members was very professional and appropriate. Our members once again as in the past showed great restraint in the face of chaos and danger.
The attitudes and actions of many of these demonstrators have not changed as they view the police as a mortal enemy and have no problem treating us as such.
Many of the demonstrators use these events as their own little personal vendettas against the police and take the opportunity to yell, kick and scream at the cops…in some cases it might be considered “therapy.”
At one point on late Friday afternoon after tying up a busy intersection in the financial district, the police responded to clear the intersection. While doing so, a bus full of sub-human parasites from Oakland opened up their windows and began yelling a stream of hateful obscenities towards the same police who were protecting and insuring their precious First Amendment rights. I was standing next to a Deputy Chief and a Commander during this barrage of hate speech and personal insults in the driving rain and thinking two things: First, “It doesn’t get better than this” and second, “what’s next?”
The Rubik’s Work Calendar…
The San Francisco Police have been dealing with this Occupy nonsense since the early part of October and we are getting tired of it. Our schedules have been changed quite often to insure enough personnel are on hand to deal with these creeps. Days off have been cancelled and we are really not sure what we are going to be doing from week to week.
Clearly, our lives have been disrupted and it has taken its toll on us AND our families and loved ones.
And just when you thought things and morale had hit rock bottom the Department came out with a Bulletin 12-008 dated 1/11/12 regarding the Cancellation of Watches Off and Use of Discretionary Time Off 2012. Traditionally, the department has designated New Year’s Eve, Halloween, and the Fourth of July as Non-Discretionary Days Off to accommodate the large crowds and traffic affecting these events and holidays.
The department has now cancelled watches off for officers, sergeants and inspectors due to anticipated needs for Saturday, Feb. 11, for Chinese New Years Parade; Monday, March 19, Anti-War Protest Anniversary; Saturday and Sunday, May 26 and 27th for Carnival; Sunday, May 27th, 75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge; Saturday and Sunday June 23rd and 24th for Pink Saturday and Pride Week-end; Saturday August 11th through Sunday August 19th and Monday, August 27th through September 2nd for America’s Cup; Saturday October 6th and Sunday October 7th for Columbus Day/ Fleet Week and of course, October 31st and December 31st for New Years Eve.
And if that wasn’t enough they added just a few more just in case. Use of Discretionary Time Off…”Commanding Officers shall not authorize discretionary time off (EH, OU, FHF, FH, PE, etc.) for any member during the below listed dates: Thursday and Friday, February 16 and 17th for Presidential visit; Saturday, March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day; Tuesday May 1st, May Day; Saturday, May 5, Cinco de Mayo; Sunday, May 20, Bay to Breakers; Monday June 11th through Sunday June 17th, U.S. Open; Friday, June 22, Pride Events; Monday, June 25th through Wednesday, June 27th, Giants/Dodgers; Friday, July 27th through Sunday, July 29th, Giants/Dodgers; Sunday, September 30th through Thursday, October 4th, Oracle; Friday, October 7th through Sunday, October 9th, Giants/Dodgers and of course, Friday, November 23rd, Fur Friday. After discussing the matter with a couple of others, it was thought that it might have made more sense putting out a bulletin advising our members when they CAN take time off!
Our officers are tired and beleaguered. They want and need time away from this madness. They want and need time alone or spent with their families. The men and women in this department are keenly aware of their obligations and responsibilities to the department, the city and especially to the citizens of San Francisco.
In order to provide optimum service to the citizens, our members need to be well rested and refreshed. They need to be able to meet the other obligations in their and those of their families.
As of this writing, Steve Johnson and I have set up an appointment with members of the Command Staff to take a second look at this bulletin and see if we can’t work out some type of compromise that would give our members AND their families some time for a vacation, or at least a few days away together.
We also want to see if midnight watches could be excluded from the watch-off restrictions. I am not even sure why midnight officers should be included in this bulletin. Stand by, as there will be more information to follow.
There is some good news related to all of this however. There is no truth -- I repeat NO TRUTH -- to the rumor that the following special holidays will also affect our abilities to take time off: International Fetish Day; Snowplow Mailbox Hockey Day; Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day; Groundhog Day; End of the World Rapture Day; Great American Beer Festival Week; Attention Deficit Disorder Awareness Day; Pumpkin Chunkin’ Day; National Whiners Day; Leave the Office Early Day (Admin and Bureau Only); Winter Solstice/Summer Solstice Days; Jerry Garcia/Grateful Dead Day (Park Station members only); Little League Baseball World Series and last but certainly not least, Yankees beat the crap out of the Red Sox Week in honor of Nick Ferrando and Amy Hurwitz and much to the chagrin of Brian Michaud and Nick Donati…
What a Difference a day makes…
Only a few short hours after the Occupy debacle subsided, another large group of marchers took to the streets of San Francisco. On Saturday, January 14, a crowd estimated at between 25,000 and 30,000 people from the March for Life, (a pro-life, anti-abortion organization) marched peacefully through our city. Amazingly, and in quite a contrast to the events the day before, not a single marcher attempted to take over a business; smash windows; lay down in the street to disrupt traffic; throw barricades at police officers; hit, punch, kick or spit at police officers; scream, yell and swear in our faces or conduct themselves in any way, shape or form as the Occupy crowd has since early October. Unlike the Occupy crowd we have become accustomed to, this group of marchers actually treated us civilly! At the end of the march, several hundred people approached us and genuinely thanked us for our presence and for protecting them. I was actually moved to tears in taking into account the difference between the people on Friday and those on Saturday. The only thing thrown our way on Saturday was “Thanks for being here for us.” And. “Hey guys, we really appreciate you!” Wow!
Ooooops!
Last month when writing about the Bryan Tuvera Memorial Service at Taraval Station, I forgot to include our dear friend Sgt. Jerry D’arcy, who was also part of the ceremony. Jerry sang a very moving rendition of our National Anthem as he has done so many times before. As always, Jerry, thank you very much for taking the time to be part of such an important event and please forgive my oversight.
UCSF visit…
A very special thanks and a “tip of the hat” to the fine, outstanding officers who joined me for our monthly hospital visit to UCSF Children’s Hospital for seriously ill children. The POA began its eighth year of monthly visits at the hospital and it couldn’t have started with three finer officers. Brian Kneuker of Southern Station has become a regular fixture at these hospital visits and has certainly been quite a hit with the nurses, staff and of course the kids. It is always great to have Brian on board with us! Brian was joined by two of San Francisco ’s Finest representing “The Big Apple,” Central Station. Officer Matt Elseth and Chris Ritter volunteered to make the visit with us and I know they were glad they did. The four of us spent time with youngsters in the schoolroom playing educational games and with those poor unfortunate children who for one reason or another were bedridden. We like to include everyone we can in these visits. Matt and Chris were very welcomed additions and I trust we will see them again on our visits.
Our visits are made on the second Wednesday of the month and in February we will be making our visit on the eighth. If you have ever considered or never considered going along with us for a hospital visit, please call me or better yet, talk to an officer who has made a hospital visit. It is absolutely a great, worthwhile experience. “Try it, you’ll love it!” You just might find out that you got more out of the visit than the child or children you visited with.
Faithfully yours…
Thanks to the San Francisco Forty-Niners who gave us a thrilling season and an incredible Division Playoff victory against the New Orleans Saints in a nail-biting finish! Many of us were so disappointed in the NFC Championship game as the locals were defeated in overtime by the Giants of New York. You gotta feel bad for the youngster Kyle Williams and the very tough day he had. After the game and in the ensuing days, Kyle handled the press and the situation like a professional and took full responsibility for his miscues. I, like so many others wished for a different outcome but mistakes in a game like that are just paramount. Now I don’t believe for one second that “one play makes a game” but I absolutely believe that one play can change the tide of a game and influence its outcome. We’ll have to wait for next season and as we do, I wonder how many of the ”faithful” will wonder why in the world was Kyle even near that punt as it rolled along the ground before touching his knee and bouncing away into the hands of one of the Giants players. It’s one of the cardinal rules of football -- absolutely fundamental --- that you stay the hell away from a ball like that! You get away from the ball and let the defense down the ball wherever it lands. Oh well…
Well, that’s it for another month. Thanks for all your outstanding work and tremendous efforts. It doesn’t go unnoticed. God Bless and Be Safe!
