George Wittman
Encyclopedia
George W. Wittman San Francisco Police officer, chief of police.

Wittman is the only San Francisco police chief ever fired outright. During the period before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...

, business interests desired the removal of the Chinese from San Francisco's Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...

 because the property was valuable as the city was still centered around Portsmouth Square
Portsmouth Square
Portsmouth Square is a one-block park in Chinatown, San Francisco, California, that is bounded by Kearny Street on the east, Washington Street on the north, Clay Street on the south, and Walter Lum Place on the west....

. The plan was to expropriate the land and move the Chinese to Hunters Point
Hunters Point
Hunters Point refers to the following places:*Bayview-Hunters Point, San Francisco**Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, another name for the San Francisco Naval Shipyard*Hunters Point, Queens, New York City**Hunterspoint Avenue...

. At a rehearing on Wittman's firing in 1975, both historian Kevin Starr
Kevin Starr
Kevin Starr is an American historian, best known for his multi-volume series on the history of California, collectively called "Americans and the California Dream."-Life:Kevin Starr was born in San Francisco, California....

 and city historian Gladys Hansen stated that Wittman was railroaded.

Hansen stated that the city wanted to move the Chinese and, "to make people believe the removal was for the betterment of the city and not a lucrative business deal, someone in high office had to be blamed for allowing vice to exist in Chinatown". Wittman took the fall (SF Examiner July 10, 1975).

See

  • San Francisco Police Department
    San Francisco Police Department
    The San Francisco Police Department, also known as the SFPD and San Francisco Department Of Police, is the police department of the City and County of San Francisco, California...

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