SFist: Washington Post Rightfully Bashes SFPD's Mad Skillz

Belgand

Thu, 29 May 2008 01:08:31 -0800

I have to admit I was amazed when I saw a recruiting booth advertising a starting salary of $72,000 for officers. You'd be lucky to earn that much starting at most jobs that require a college education. Hell, a friend of mine just started as a programmer at Google and even he isn't making that much. At that kind of pay I was even briefly tempted. Not enough to ever cut my hair or take a job where you carry a gun (it's not the gun I mind so much as the idea that you have it because people would be interested in shooting at you), but damn tempted nonetheless. No wonder we don't have any money. We're blowing it all on our terrible police force. One that claims they can't enforce a foot patrol because they have out of date technology (and a general unwillingness to actually do their jobs). How much technology do you need? We're talking about what is ostensibly the oldest form of police work available: walking around. Give someone a club, cuffs, and a radio and that would seem to be that. With a city this dense and congested I can't imagine that a car would really do much good anyway.

reaubhat

Wed, 28 May 2008 11:30:46 -0800

@RobinSF - Good call! Maybe the parking enforcement people should swap with the regular police - I get dinged every time I forget about street cleaning - maybe murder could be ticketed too!

RobInSF

Wed, 28 May 2008 10:01:17 -0800

SFPD: The best traffic control money can buy.

what

Tue, 27 May 2008 23:53:34 -0800

fizz: my rates are reasonable! Hire me to publicize your next bar mitzvah.

Able Dart

Tue, 27 May 2008 22:58:07 -0800

Oh and BTW: There are some benefits to living in such as laxly policed city as ours. If there are people that you really hate, and they have no family in town and few friends, you can murder them with impunity. Just don't use a gun.

Able Dart

Tue, 27 May 2008 22:54:21 -0800

Lots of good individual cops. Some even get promoted. Heather Fong used to be one of them. It's the institution, folks. You have elected politicians who bank on an electorate which is dubious of the need for police in the first place. Then a corrupt union which banks on public contempt and whines on about how their job is so hard because the government won't let them do it.

erinerin

Tue, 27 May 2008 18:03:45 -0800

Wow, SFPD nice response. Why not just say "my mom doesn't think I'm incompetent!" Seriously, I've met a few nice police officers in this city but the few good ones are surrounded by totally inept, entitled douchebags.

Doctor Memory

Tue, 27 May 2008 17:02:10 -0800

fizzandpop: eh, I don't have any trouble believing that there are a few -- hell, even a lot -- of solid officers in the SFPD. The law of averages practically guarantees it in a city this size. I'll even allow that it's a good thing to keep in mind when talking to any random one, since there's nothing to be gained in being dismissive until you're sure you're dealing with an idiot. It just doesn't have much to do with evaluating the quality of the department as a whole compared to other cities.

fizzandpop

Tue, 27 May 2008 15:41:37 -0800

That previous post was brought to you the PR firm of Hack, Shill and Brownnose

what

Tue, 27 May 2008 15:29:00 -0800

I actually went on a ride along with an officer from the Mission District station, and he was awesome. He was extremely intelligent, friendly, and totally tuned in to SF sensibilities. He had some insight into why the SFPD has problems, though of course wasn't able to speak entirely freely. I didn't get to spend much time with other officers, so maybe I just got one of their best because they wanted to impress the people on the ride along. Still: they've got at least one awesome cop.

fizzandpop

Tue, 27 May 2008 15:08:51 -0800

A couple of observations: Heather Fong looks like the alien from American Dad and is about as good at her job as he would be. An SFPD cop once told me I should "learn to speak f*cking English" when I replied to his question with a "what?" They're still looking for the Zodiac Killer. They're all either big fatties or miniature asians who look like fourteen year olds. The moment The Big One hits they will all run screaming back to Tracey or where ever the f**k they live and leave us to fend for ourselves,

jcsnotes

Tue, 27 May 2008 14:53:21 -0800

Is it me, or is the SFPD spokesperson in the article none other than Jeff Lebowski with his "that's just your opinion, man" response?

mattymatt

Tue, 27 May 2008 14:32:54 -0800

If I'm ever detained by the SFPD for doing something wrong, I'll be sure to try out that "all a matter of opinion" defense.

Generic

Tue, 27 May 2008 14:03:00 -0800

That Washington Post article is just fucking embarrassing. They should have it laminated and posted at every precinct.

periqueblend

Tue, 27 May 2008 13:52:04 -0800

Brock, are you going to post about the Fire department's inability to drive through the streets w/out hitting other vehicles, or is it only an issue when muni does it?

bluecanary

Tue, 27 May 2008 13:49:52 -0800

and the man to the far right in the picture is none other than Fatty Arbuckle, of "raped a girl with a coke bottle in the St. Francis in San Francisco" (but he really didn't) fame. Ah, the bay area connection.

rubylovesnorman

Tue, 27 May 2008 13:48:32 -0800

Cops should catch bad guys? Again, that's a matter of opinion.

bluecanary

Tue, 27 May 2008 13:39:42 -0800

I have to say, I was pretty appalled by the general crap-ness of the police force here. They make the cops back home look like Eliot and Benson. I could cite numerous examples of personal observations of their suck-ness. This article is far from surprising.

icbalaam

Tue, 27 May 2008 13:38:56 -0800

Nothing surprises me when it comes to SFPD's ineptness. A friend who works in London as part of the Metropolitan Police Service came for a visit last year and went on a ride along with the SFPD. He was amazed at how lax our police were. He found them to be very condescending to anyone of color. He was extremely surprised when the unit he was with was dispatched to a call and the officers ignored it because they wanted to get coffee at Starbucks.

sf_bikebike

Tue, 27 May 2008 13:28:31 -0800

They do suck....when was the last time they solved a murder case? Its not that big of a city.