With a who’s-who of global leaders about to converge on San Francisco for the APEC summit, the Secret Service will be blanketing the city, along with officers from at least eight other outside law enforcement agencies to beef up the number of cops in town for the event.
It’s about to be APEC weekend in San Francisco, everybody! Do you care? Well, with President Biden plus an estimated 30,000 high-profile international guests coming to town, it may be a boon for some people in the hospitality industry (but maybe not all of them). And since we have Biden, Vice President Harris, and scores of other dignitaries coming to SF, there will be very high security, street shutdowns galore, and lots of protests. With the requisite mass Secret Service detail, expect to see armies of officers who look like the sunglass-wearing “agents” from The Matrix movies.
Our press conference regarding APEC safety and traffic controls is happening now! @SFPDChief Scott is joined by @CHP_GoldenGate and @SecretService. We’re working collaboratively to ensure the safety and security of attendees and residents during this event. pic.twitter.com/ZS1yoXZOCR
— San Francisco Police (@SFPD) November 8, 2023
As acknowledged in the SFPD tweet above, SFPD will be bolstered with California Highway Patrol officers and Secret Service agents, to help with the motorcades and security details for high-level global leaders, the traffic closures, and maintaining “exclusion zones.” And based on information presented at Wednesday night’s SF Police Commission meeting, Mission Local reports that SFPD is also bringing in hundreds more law enforcement officers from other state and local agencies to beef up the badge-holder presence.
The SFPD will be stretched thin by the forthcoming APEC conference — and hundreds of cops will be streaming into San Francisco from nearby cities and the CHP.
— Mission Local (@MLNow) November 9, 2023
From @kellywaldro https://t.co/Mz9iZhsBbM
According to Mission Local, many of these outside officers will be “under the watch of the U.S. Secret Service,” not the SF Police Department or Sheriff's Department. But some will be working with or reporting to SFPD or the Sheriff's Department, with officers from no fewer than eight other law enforcement agencies like the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, or the Daly City and Menlo Park police departments.
“It’s fairly rare for us to request,” Scott told the Police Commission. “But it’s not totally uncommon.” Indeed, we’ve seen this before in spontaneous events like car chases that cover multiple counties.
Road closures and traffic detours for the APEC summit aren’t scheduled to take effect until Monday but security fences went up Thursday, resulting in roadblocks on Fourth Street. https://t.co/TdqxSbL8jD
— San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) November 9, 2023
And are you planning to participate in a protest? If so, SFPD may already be keeping an eye on you. Ominously, Chief Scott said the department is watching “what’s out there in open source on First Amendment activity,” which sounds like he’s saying that they’re monitoring websites and social media posts that involve protest planning and organizing.
For what it’s worth, the above press conference just wrapped up Thursday morning, where Mayor Breed was joined by Chief Scott and a host of other City Hall (and Secret Service) heads to give an update on traffic measures, where fences will be placed, and other disruptions. It sounds like the APEC events/inconveniences will start to get serious starting Tuesday, and Mayor Breed said “the bulk of activities will take place Wednesday and Thursday” of next week.
Related: Homeless Encampment Sweeps Begin In Downtown SF Ahead of APEC [SFist]
Image: @SFPD via Twitter
