List of events in the history of the San Francisco Police Department
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of events in the history of the 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...
.
- 1851 and 1856: The San Francisco Vigilance MovementSan Francisco Vigilance MovementThe San Francisco Committee of Vigilance was a popular ad hoc organization formed in 1851 and revived in 1856. Their purpose was to rein in rampant crime and government corruption. They were among the most successful organizations in the vigilante tradition of the American Old West.These militias...
usurped local and state authority during the post-Gold Rush period.
- January 1866: Author Mark TwainMark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
blasts the SFPD and Chief Martin Burke for corruption in a series of letters to the editor, including one to the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, now lost but parts of which were reprinted elsewhere, published January 23, 1866
- From 1875 to 1888: Hunt for Charles BollesCharles BollesCharles Earl Bowles , better known as Black Bart, was an English-born American Old West outlaw noted for his poetic messages left after two of his robberies. Also known as Charles Bolton, C.E...
aka Black BartBlack BartBlack Bart may refer to:*Black Bart , notorious American Old West outlaw* Bartholomew Roberts , Welsh pirate in the late 17th and early 18th centuries* Black Bart , a musical theater group...
, a notorious stagecoach robber at the time. He was eventually caught by a Wells FargoWells FargoWells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
detective James B. HumeJames B. HumeJames B. Hume was one of the American West's premier lawmen.Born in Stamford Township, Delaware County, New York, he left home in 1850 headed for the gold fields of California with his brother John. His sister Mary Hume married Mathew McClaughry in Kortwright, New York. Their oldest son Robert W...
. He disappeared shortly after he was released from prison in 1888.
- 1877: The "July Days" rioting of 1877 that broke out as an indirect result of an earlier demonstration in solidarity with striking miners in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where at least forty strikers had been killed by state militia. City fathers established a committee of safety to supplement the police force, handing out axe handles that gave the group the moniker, the "pick-handle" brigade.
- Early 1880s: Chinatown squad established.
- November, 1886: Police defend old Jail on BroadwayBroadway Street (San Francisco)Broadway is an east-west street in San Francisco that runs from The Embarcadero to the Cow Hollow district. The neon-lined stretch of Broadway through North Beach is the city's red-light district, home to strip clubs and other adult businesses, as well as many nightclubs and bars, and has been...
in North Beach from vigilantes bent on lynching prisoners
- April 13, 1895: Theodore DurrantTheodore DurrantTheodore Henry Durrant , Known as "The Demon of the Belfry", was hanged for two murders committed at the San Francisco Emanuel Baptist Church, where he was assistant superintendent. He maintained his innocence of the crimes...
arrested for murdering both Minnie Williams and Blanche Lamont in Emanuel Church in Noe Valley San Francisco. Hanged in 1898.
- 1901: Chief William P. Sullivan issues order against officers dyeing hair and whiskers, claiming the effort detracts from the officer's duties
- 1901: Carman's strikes. Employers' Association hired toughs and Mayor James D. PhelanJames D. PhelanJames Duval Phelan was an American politician, civic leader and banker.-Early years:Phelan was born in San Francisco, the son of an Irish immigrant who became wealthy during the California Gold Rush as a trader, merchant and banker. He graduated from St...
's police attack strikers. City police ride with scabsStrikebreakerA strikebreaker is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who are not employed by the company prior to the trade union dispute, but rather hired prior to or during the strike to keep the organisation running...
. Police beat strikers but make no arrests. Police behavior during this strike is a major factor in the fall Mayoral election which brought Eugene SchmitzEugene SchmitzEugene Edward Schmitz was an American politician and the 26th mayor of San Francisco, who became notorious for his conviction by a jury on charges of corruption.-Life and career:...
, his patron Abe RuefAbe RuefAbraham Rueff , known as Abe Ruef, was an American lawyer and politician...
, and the Union Labor Party to power. 5 dead, 300 injured
- The 1907 San Francisco Streetcar StrikeSan Francisco Streetcar Strike of 1907The San Francisco Streetcar Strike of 1907 was among the most violent of the streetcar strikes in the United States between 1895 and 1929. Before the end of the strike, thirty-one people had been killed and about 1100 injured....
: Disagreements between the union and the management of United Railroads Company from 1902 to 1907 contribute greatly to this strike. Strike ends in failure as workers abandoned the strike.
- December 1, 1908: San Francisco Chief of Police William J. BiggyWilliam J. BiggyWilliam J. Biggy was San Francisco Chief of Police 1907 - 08.He was appointed Chief of Police by Mayor Edward Robeson Taylor. Upon elevation to the position of Chief, Biggy declared, as do most new chiefs in San Francisco, that he would "clean up" the department...
went overboard from a police launch during a nighttime crossing of San Francisco Bay after a visit with judge in Tiburon, CaliforniaTiburon, CaliforniaTiburon is an incorporated town in Marin County, California. It occupies most of the Tiburon Peninsula, which reaches south into the San Francisco Bay. The smaller city of Belvedere occupies the south-east part of the peninsula and is contiguous with Tiburon...
. Biggy had been accused of failing to stop the killing, or suicide in jail, of ex-convict and alleged Ruef bagman Morris Haas, shooter of special prosecutor Francis J. HeneyFrancis J. HeneyFrancis Joseph Heney was an American lawyer who served as Attorney General of the Arizona Territory between 1893 and 1895.- Early years :...
. Biggy's body was found two weeks later. The Coroner's Jury returned a verdict of accidental death although some people believed his death was suicide. The case remains unsolved.
- 1909: Establishment of SFPD motorcycle squad for "stopping scorchers (bicyclists) and reckless vehicle drivers" and countries first fingerprint bureau (S.F. Examiner June 13, 1977)
- 1912: Warned by Chinese Consul General Li Yung Yow that "efforts to bring a truce among warring highbinder factions" had been futile, police chief David A. White issues orders that the regular Chinatown squad be expanded... and all officers be instructed to "shoot to kill" at the first indication of trouble." (LA times March 14, 1912 pg.12)
- 1913: Three women protective officers join the force. San Francisco among first departments to hire women.
- July 22, 1916: The bombingPreparedness Day bombingThe Preparedness Day Bombing was a bombing in San Francisco, California on July 22, 1916, when the city held a parade in honor of Preparedness Day, in anticipation of the United States' imminent entry into World War I. During the parade a suitcase bomb was detonated, killing ten and wounding...
on the Preparedness Day parade killed 10 people and wounded 40 others. Two known radical labor leaders – Thomas MooneyThomas MooneyThomas Joseph "Tom" Mooney was an American political activist and labor leader, who was convicted with Warren K. Billings of the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916...
and Warren K. Billings were arrested and sentenced to death under a hasty trial. They were eventually commuted by President Woodrow WilsonWoodrow WilsonThomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
in 1918 and pardoned by California governor Culbert OlsonCulbert OlsonCulbert Levy Olson was an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, Olson was involved in Utah and California politics and was elected as the 29th Governor of California from 1939 to 1943.-Personal background:...
in 1939.
- February, 1917: The police raided and blockaded the notorious red-light district Barbary CoastBarbary Coast, San Francisco, CaliforniaBarbary Coast was a red-light district in old San Francisco, California. Geographically it constituted nine blocks bounded by Montgomery Street, Washington Street, Stockton Street, and Broadway...
and refused entry to any men without legitimate business. The police then proceeded to evict over 1073 prostitutes, giving them a few hours to collect their belongings, thereby effectively shutting down 83 dives and brothels after nearly three quarters of a century as the west coast's premiere vice district.
- August, 1917: After three weeks of strikes on the United Railways, police are accused of refusing to search all "platform men" still on the job, causing president Koster of the San Francisco Law and Order Committee to notify the mayor that "unless he instructs the police to do their duty...state and Federal government will be asked to interfere", in the United Railroad worker's strike. (LA Times September 1, 1917 pg. II4).
- November 15, 1919: Police order all IWWIndustrial Workers of the WorldThe Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
members out of town.
- 1921: Appointment by Chief Dan O'Brien of Jack ManionJack ManionInspector John J. Manion, , San Francisco Police Department, was a veteran officer assigned by Chief Dan O'Brien in 1921 to head up the notorious 16-member Chinatown Squad which had been established in 1875....
to the Chinatown Squad
- September 3, 1921: Famous silent film actor Roscoe Arbuckle aka Fatty ArbuckleFatty ArbuckleRoscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. Starting at the Selig Polyscope Company he eventually moved to Keystone Studios where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd...
was involved in an alleged rape during his stay in San Francisco. The victim Virginia RappeVirginia RappeVirginia Rappe was an American model and silent film actress.-Early life and career:Rappe was born to unwed mother Mabel Rapp in New York City. Mabel died when Virginia was 11, and Virginia was then raised by her grandmother in Chicago. At age 14 she began working as a commercial and art model in...
died three days after party at Arbuckle's suite in the Saint Francis Hotel. The scandal attracted media attention and destroyed Arbuckle's career.
- 1923: Police Academy was opened, first in the nation
- 1932: Jessie Scott Hughes murdered, trial of public defender Frank Egan ends in first degree murder sentence of 25 years
- 1934: The 1934 West Coast longshore strike1934 West Coast Longshore StrikeThe 1934 West Coast Waterfront Strike lasted eighty-three days, triggered by sailors and a four-day general strike in San Francisco, and led to the unionization of all of the West Coast ports of the United States...
that included Bloody Thursday July 5, 1934 over a hundred people wounded, strikers Nicholas Bordois and Howard Sperry killed.
- July 17, 1934: the California National Guard blocked both ends of Jackson Street from Drumm to Front with machine gun mounted trucks to assist vigilante raids, protected by SFPD, on the headquarters of the Marine Workers' Industrial Union and the ILAIlaILA or Ila may refer to:* MV Ila, ship in service 1947-52Places:* Ila, Georgia, community in United States* Ila, Trondheim, borough in Norway* Ila, Nigeria, townPersonal names:...
soup kitchen at 84 Embarcadero. Moving on, the Workers' Ex-Servicemen's League's headquarters on Howard between Third and Fourth was raided, leading to 150 arrests and the complete destruction of the facilities. The employer's group, the Industrial Association, had agents riding with the police. Further raids were carried out at the Workers' Open Forum at 1223 Fillmore Street and the Western Worker building opposite City Hall that contained a bookstore and the main offices of the Communist Party, which was thoroughly destroyed. Attacks were also perpetrated on the 121 Haight Street Workers' School and the Mission Workers' Neighborhood House at 741 Valencia Street.
- Mid 1930s: Hiring of barrister Jake EhrlichJake Ehrlich- Biography :Born near Rockville, Montgomery County, Maryland. Known as "the Master," Jake Ehrlich had a fifty year career as a defense and divorce attorney in San Francisco. He authored a dozen books on the law, the Bible, and his own life story...
in mid-1930s by police officers association
- 1937: Revelation of widespread graft reported in the 1937 investigation by Matthew Brady (district attorney)Matthew Brady (district attorney)Matthew Brady was a district attorney in San Francisco from 1919 through 1943.Brady defeated previous district attorney Charles Fickert, who was responsible for the conviction of Tom Mooney and Warren Billings in the Preparedness Day bombing....
hired detective Edwin AthertonEdwin AthertonEdwin Newton Atherton was born in Washington D.C. and served as a Foreign Service Officer, BOI Agent, Private Investigator and later, appointed head of the college athletics organization, the Pacific Coast Conference in the 1940s.Atherton studied law at Georgetown University and was said to be a...
- Sunday, May 2, 1937: Patrolman George Burkhard, trophied marksman, shoots his wife and two grown daughters and then commits suicide in the midst of prosecution for falsifying documents related to graftGraft (politics)In general graft is an unscrupulous use of one’s authority for personal gain. However, the gain may also end up in party coffers...
hearings
- May 29, 1937: Riot in the Polk Gulch area on the night of the Golden Gate Bridge Fiesta.
- September, 1938: Mounted police chase striking Retail Department Store Employees Union in commercial district where thirty-five department stores are affected in general strike
- October, 1943: Iron RingIron RingThe Iron Ring is a ring worn by many engineers in Canada as a symbol and reminder of the obligations and ethics associated with the profession. Obtaining the ring is an optional endeavour, as it is not a prerequisite to becoming a Professional Engineer...
police clique exposed. Certain officers are accused of participating and profiting from after hours bars, vice and gambling operations. Ostentatious displays of jewelry, cars and flashy cash decried as criminal gains (SF Chronicle October 25, 1943)
- October 23, 1943: San Francisco Chronicle reports accusations of police tip-offs in the Burns-Caldwell underground abortions case
- 1944: V-DayV-DayV-Day, February 14th, is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls inspired by Eve Ensler's play, The Vagina Monologues. The movement was started in 1998 by author, playwright and activist Eve Ensler. Ensler has been quoted as saying that it was women's reactions to the...
riots that lasted three days, mostly joined by men in uniform
- 1946: the San Francisco Police Officers AssociationSan Francisco Police Officers AssociationThe San Francisco Police Officers Association, the largest police trade union representing the San Francisco Police Department, was founded in 1946...
was founded
- 1947: The Nick de John mafiaMafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
murder of 1947
- 1949: The 1949 frame-up and arrest for narcotics possession of Billie Holliday
- September 30, 1955: ChiefChief of policeA Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...
George Healey asks for disbanding of Chinatown squad, upon request of influential Chinese World newspaper, which states that squad is an "affront to Americans of Chinese descent".
- 1957: The 1957 arrest of City Lights BookstoreCity Lights BookstoreCity Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected titles related to San Francisco culture. It was founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence...
publisher Lawrence FerlinghettiLawrence FerlinghettiLawrence Ferlinghetti is an American poet, painter, liberal activist, and the co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers...
on obscenity charges for publication of the Allen GinsbergAllen GinsbergIrwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
poem HowlHowl"Howl" is a poem written by Allen Ginsberg in 1955 and published as part of his 1956 collection of poetry titled Howl and Other Poems. The poem is considered to be one of the great works of the Beat Generation, along with Jack Kerouac's On the Road and William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch...
- September 1, 1958: Chief Frances J. AhernFrances J. AhernFrances J. Ahern was the San Francisco Police Chief from January 1956 to September 1958.Appointed by mayor George Christopher's police commission, Ahern, with the rank of patrolman, was elevated to chief over every captain, lieutenant and sergeant on the force...
died of a heart attack at a baseball game in Seal Stadium (New York Times: September 2, 1958. p. 25)
- May 13, 1960: A large group of students and citizens fire-hosed down the marble steps inside City Hall rotunda by the SFPD for protesting their exclusion from HUAC hearings, 52 arrests.
- 1961: The 1961 arrest of comedian Lenny BruceLenny BruceLeonard Alfred Schneider , better known by the stage name Lenny Bruce, was a Jewish-American comedian, social critic and satirist...
for obscenity
- March 7, 1964: Police arrest 167 of nearly 1000 demonstrators who sat-in at the Sheraton Palace hotel in protest of the hotels failure to hire blacks.
- April 14, 1964: Police arrest 180 civil rights demonstrators, motivated by the San Francisco NAACP, on Van Ness Avenue's "Auto Row", including actor Sterling HaydenSterling HaydenSterling Hayden was an American actor and author. For most of his career as a leading man, he specialized in westerns and film noir, such as Johnny Guitar, The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing. Later on he became noted as a character actor for such roles as Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr...
and six clergymembers, who continue sit-ins at major auto showrooms such as the Wessman Lincoln-Mercury and nearby Cadillac dealership, protesting discriminatory hiring practices and demanding integration of work sales force.
- New Year's Eve party at California Hall raided and 600 attendee's lined up and photographed as homosexuals. The cases went to trial with support from the ACLU. All are acquitted.
- August, 1966: Compton's Cafeteria riotCompton's cafeteria riotThe Compton's Cafeteria Riot occurred in August 1966 in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. This incident was one of the first recorded transgender riots in United States history, preceding the more famous 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City.A smaller-scale riot broke out in 1959 in Los...
.
- Hunters PointHunters Point, San Francisco, CaliforniaBayview-Hunters Point or The Bayview, is a neighborhood in the southeastern corner of San Francisco, California, United States. The decommissioned Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is located within its boundaries and Candlestick Park is on the southern edge....
riot September 27, 1966: A three day riot breaks out when a white police officer shot and killed a sixteen-year-old fleeing the scene of a stolen car. National guard cover city for two days
- Police seize copies of Lenore KandelLenore KandelLenore Kandel was an American poet.Kandel was briefly notorious as the author of a short book of poetry, The Love Book...
's book of poems, the love book, leading to another long obscenity trial.
- 1966 to 1967: Hippies enact walk-inWalk-inA walk-in is a new age concept of a person whose original soul has departed his or her body and has been replaced with a new soul, either temporarily or permanently.-Origin:...
s in Haight StreetHaight StreetHaight Street, in San Francisco, is perhaps best known as the principal street in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, also known as Upper Haight. It stretches from Market Street to Stanyan Street, at Golden Gate Park. It is named after California pioneer and exchange banker Henry Haight ....
intersections precipitating repeated military-style police marches down the street.
- 1967: Police arrest dancers Rudolph Nureyev and DameDame (title)The title of Dame is the female equivalent of the honour of knighthood in the British honours system . It is also the equivalent form address to 'Sir' for a knight...
Margot FonteynMargot FonteynDame Margot Fonteyn de Arias, DBE , was an English ballerina of the 20th century. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest classical ballet dancers of all time...
on the roof of a house near the panhandle for being in the vicinity of pot smoking
- December, 1968 through January, 1969: Police repeatedly called on student protesters by Chancellor S. I. HayakawaS. I. HayakawaSamuel Ichiye Hayakawa was a Canadian-born American academic and political figure of Japanese ancestry. He was an English professor, and served as president of San Francisco State University and then as United States Senator from California from 1977 to 1983...
.
- May 1, 1969: Arrest of seven young Latinos Los Siete De La RazaLos Siete de la RazaLos Siete de la Raza was the label given to seven Mission District San Francisco California young men, approached by two plainclothes policemen while moving a stereo or TV into a house at 429-433 Alvarado street on May 1, 1969 at around 10:30 a.m. The altercation resulted in one officer dead from a...
for the May 1, 1969 murder of an undercover officer Joe Brodnik and wounding of partner Paul McGoran
- 1960s: Targeting of SFPD officers for assassination by militants alleged to be connected to the Black PantherBlack pantherA black panther is typically a melanistic color variant of any of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America they may be black jaguars or possibly black cougars A black panther is...
Party.
- 1960s to 1970s: The ZodiacZodiac KillerThe Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The killer's identity remains unknown. The Zodiac murdered victims in Benicia, Vallejo, Lake Berryessa and San Francisco between December 1968 and October 1969. Four men and three women...
serial killer case which rocked the Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
during the 1960s and '70s
- February 16, 1970: A homemade bomb exploded outside the police station on Waller St. Sgt. Brian McDonnell (44) died 2 days later and 8 other officers were injured. Black Panthers or the Weather Underground were suspects
- 1970s: The racially-motivated 1970s Zebra murdersZebra murdersThe "Zebra" murders were a string of racially motivated murders that took place in San Francisco, California, from October 1973 to April 1974....
by a violent offshoot of Nation of IslamNation of IslamThe Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
. offshoot.
- In the late 1960s, New AgeNew AgeThe New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
philosopher Alan WattsAlan WattsAlan Wilson Watts was a British philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter and popularizer of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Born in Chislehurst, he moved to the United States in 1938 and began Zen training in New York...
suggested police carPolice carA police car is a ground vehicle used by police, to assist with their duties in patrolling and responding to incidents. Typical uses of a police car include transportation for officers to reach the scene of an incident quickly, to transport criminal suspects, or to patrol an area, while providing a...
s be painted baby blueBaby blueBaby blue is a tint of blue, one of the pastel colors.The first recorded use of baby blue as a color name in English was in 1892.-Bubbles:Bubbles is a pale tint of baby blue....
and white instead of black and white. This proposal was implemented in San Francisco by Chief Charles GainCharles GainCharles Gain is a retired police official, who served first as police chief for Oakland, Calif., then as chief in San Francisco in the 1970s.In 1975, Gain was appointed to run the San Francisco Police Department by Mayor George Moscone and served 1975 to 1980...
in the late 1970s. Along with the new color scheme, Gain substituted the City's sealSeal of San Francisco, CaliforniaThe seal of city and county of San Francisco, California, is a coat of arms that includes a crest, supporters and a motto, ringed with the municipality's name....
(which appeared on almost all other municipal vehicles owned by San Francisco), with "Police Services" for the department's traditional seven-pointed, blue star logo. Watts suggested the police wear baby blue uniforms, but this was never implemented. Later, in the late 1990s, the police cars were repainted their former black and white colors, but the blue star remains.
- 1975: The Symbionese Liberation ArmySymbionese Liberation ArmyThe Symbionese Liberation Army was an American self-styled left-wing urban militant group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army...
crime spree and the 1975 arrest of Patty HearstPatty HearstPatricia Campbell Hearst , now known as Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper heiress, socialite, actress, kidnap victim, and convicted bank robber....
, William and Emily Harris and Wendy YoshimuraWendy YoshimuraWendy Masako Yoshimura is an American still life watercolor painter better known for her involvement with the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was born in a World War II-era California internment camp, and raised in Japan and the Central Valley...
in a house on Bernal Heights.
- August 18, 1975: Over 90% of 1,935 police walk out in pay dispute.
- September 22, 1975: President Gerald R. Ford dodged a second assassination in less than three weeks. Sara Jane Moore, an FBI informer and self-proclaimed revolutionary, attempted to shoot President Ford outside a San Francisco hotel, but missed.
- August 4, 1977: Over 400 riot-equipped police (some on horseback), and sheriff's deputies take the I-hotel International HotelInternational HotelInternational Hotel may refer to:* International Hotel , a historic building* The I-Hotel, a residential hotel and community center in San Francisco, California* The former name of the Las Vegas Hilton...
from 2000 protesters.
- August 25, 1977: Police commission approves an equal opportunity plan that includes recruitment of homosexuals.
- September, 1977: Golden Dragon massacreGolden Dragon massacreThe Golden Dragon massacre took place in San Francisco, California, on September 4, 1977, inside the Golden Dragon Restaurant. At 2:40 AM a longstanding feud between two rival Chinese gangs, the Joe Boys and Wah Ching came to head when a botched assassination attempt by the Joe Boys at the Golden...
.
- November 27, 1978 Former SFPD officer, firefighter and SupervisorSupervisorA supervisor, foreperson, team leader, overseer, cell coach, facilitator, or area coordinator is a manager in a position of trust in business...
Dan WhiteDan WhiteDaniel James "Dan" White was a San Francisco supervisor who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, on Monday, November 27, 1978, at City Hall...
is arrested for the assassinationsMoscone-Milk assassinationsThe Moscone–Milk assassinations were the killings of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, who were shot and killed in San Francisco City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White on November 27, 1978...
of Mayor George MosconeGeorge MosconeGeorge Richard Moscone was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California, US from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. Moscone served in the California State Senate from 1967 until becoming Mayor. In the Senate, he served as...
and Supervisor Harvey MilkHarvey MilkHarvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
.
- May 21, 1979 The White Night RiotsWhite Night RiotsThe White Night riots were a series of violent events sparked by an announcement of the lenient sentencing of Dan White, for the assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk. The events took place on the night of May 21, 1979 in San Francisco...
which followed Dan White's acquittal of first degree murder charges and conviction on lesser charges of voluntary manslaughterVoluntary ManslaughterVoluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human being in which the offender had no prior intent to kill and acted during "the heat of passion," under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed. In the Uniform Crime Reports prepared by the...
when hundreds march to city hall and riot, break windows and torch police cars. These spontaneous actions led to an unprovoked police raid on a Castro StreetCastro StreetCastro Street may refer to:* Castro Street in The Castro, San Francisco, California* Castro Street , a 1966 short documentary film directed by Bruce Baillie* Castro Street Station, a Muni Metro underground station in San Francisco...
gay bar called the Elephant Walk, two miles away and hours after the City Hall disturbance.
- January 27, 1979 Police department settles racial discrimination suit filed by Black Police Officer's Association.
- 1981: The 1981 arrest of David CarpenterDavid CarpenterDavid Carpenter may refer to:*David Carpenter, early Texas settler and namesake of Carpenters Bayou*David Aaron Carpenter, violist, *David Carpenter , British historian*David Carpenter , Canadian novelist...
, the "Trailside Killer."
- May, 1984: Notorious sex party at California Halls RathskellerRathskellerRatskeller is a name in German-speaking countries for a bar or restaurant located in the basement of a city hall or nearby...
bar, celebrating the graduation of new San Francisco Police Department cadets.
- September, 1984: Police siege Lord Jim's bar looking for drugs. Hold 60 patrons for more than an hour, prompting lawsuits that cost many thousands of dollars
- 1984: The still-unsolved 1984 disappearance of Kevin CollinsKevin Andrew CollinsKevin Andrew Collins gained national attention as one of the first missing children to appear on milk cartons and on the cover of national publications, such as Newsweek magazine in 1984...
- 1984: Democratic National ConventionDemocratic National ConventionThe Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
- 1980s: The case against serial killers Leonard LakeLeonard LakeLeonard Lake was an American serial killer. He often used the alias Leonard Hill. The crimes he committed with Charles Ng became known when Lake committed suicide by taking a cyanide pill shortly after being arrested for a firearms offense.-Life:Lake was born in San Francisco, California...
and Charles NgCharles NgCharles Chi-Tat Ng is a serial killer. With Leonard Lake, he is suspected of murdering between 11 and 25 victims at Lake's ranch in Calaveras County, California, United States....
- 1980s: The case against Richard RamirezRichard RamirezRicardo "Richard" Muñoz Ramírez is a convicted serial killer awaiting execution on California's death row at San Quentin State Prison...
, the night stalker - August 15, 1988: Captan Richard Holder leads arrest of first nine Food Not Bombs volunteers at Golden Gate Park.
- August 22, 1988: Police arrest 29 Food Not Bombs Volunteers for Making a Political Statement at Golden Gate Park.
- September 5, 1988: 54 Food Not Bombs volunteers arrested sharing vegan food at Golden Gate Park.
- 1988: S.F. Police officer breaks two ribs and ruptures spleen of UFW leader Dolores HuertaDolores HuertaDolores C. Huerta is the co-founder and First Vice President Emeritus of the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO , and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.-Early life:...
at a demonstration in Union Square against George Bush 1, leading to the dismissal of officers with excessive force complaints and a settlement with the city for $825,000
- October 6, 1989: In response to a small, peaceful protest by the AIDS activist group ACT UP San Francisco, more than 200 SFPD officers descend on the Castro, the city's main gay neighborhood, on a busy Friday evening. Declaring the entire commercial district to be an unlawful-assembly zone, officers sweep all pedestrians from the streets and sidewalks over a seven-block area and prevent patrons from exiting businesses and residents from leaving their homes for an hour or more. More than 50 individuals are arrested, and a number of protesters and passersby are clubbed and injured by police officers. Following the event, the Office of Citizen Complaints, the city's independent police review board, determines that the crackdown had been ordered by Deputy Chief Frank Reed and that half of all officers on duty had taken part. The San Francisco Police Commission ultimately disciplines several officers, and the city pays $250,000 to settle two civil suits brought by victims of the police misconduct. The police action comes to be known as the Castro Sweep Police Riot.
- October 17, 1989: Loma Prieta earthquakeLoma Prieta earthquakeThe Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time...
occurred
- 1992: Police Chief Richard HongistoRichard HongistoRichard D. Hongisto was a businessman, politician, sheriff and police chief of San Francisco, California, and Cleveland, Ohio.-Early life and education:...
is fired for allegedly prompting three officers to seize more than 2,000 copies of the San Francisco Bay TimesSan Francisco Bay TimesThe San Francisco Bay Times is a free weekly LGBT newspaper in San Francisco, California that started as COMING Up! in October 1979 as "the gay lesbian newspaper and calendar of events for the Bay Area."...
, a weekly gay and lesbian newspaper. One of those three officers, Gary Delagnes, is current president of the Police Officers Association
- 1993: The 1993 massacre at 101 California Street101 California Street101 California Street is a 48-story office building completed in 1982 in the Financial District of San Francisco, California. The tower providing of office space is bounded by California-, Davis-, Front-, and Pine Streets near Market Street....
- 1993: The Anti-Defamation LeagueAnti-Defamation LeagueThe Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
Spy Scandal of 1993 involving ADL researcher Roy Bullock and officer Tom Gerard
- New Year's Day, 1995: Four officers charged with using unnecessary force and making homophobic comments to partygoers at an AIDS fund-raiser at 938 Harrison St.
- June 4, 1995: Aaron Williams, an African-American man suspected of a pet-store burglary dies in police custody. According to witnesses and police sources, a team of police led by Officer Marc Andaya repeatedly kicked Williams in the head and emptied three canisters of pepper spray into his face. Despite the fact that Williams was having difficulty breathing, the police hog-tied, gagged and left him unattended in the back of a police van, where he died.
- April 6, 1996: Mark Garcia, a 15 year teamster, killed by San Francisco police. Mark Garcia was robbed and partially stripped of his clothing. SFPD called. Instead of helping Mark, the police beat him, pepper sprayed him, handcuffed him, stood on his back for more than 5 minutes, hog-tied him, and then threw him into the back of a police van. Although they took him to the hospital, Garcia died.
- April 16, 1996 A Municipal Court judge signs order dismissing 39,020 citations and warrants police handed out relating to the controversial Matrix Program in a move that District Attorney Terence Hallinan describes as a shift to a "kinder, more effective" approach to homelessness.
- July, 1997: The Critical MassCritical MassCritical Mass is a cycling event typically held on the last Friday of every month in over 300 cities around the world. The ride was originally founded in 1992 in San Francisco. The purpose of Critical Mass is not usually formalized beyond the direct action of meeting at a set location and time and...
bike ride that led to over a hundred arrests and charges of police overreaction
- Investigation launched into cashier's checks specifically made out to the Vice Crimes Division and handed directly to a vice squad sergeant. The money was collected from massage parlor workers arrested by the Vice Squad.
- May 13, 1998: Sheila Patricia Detoy, sitting in the front seat of a Ford Mustang, shot once in the head by plainclothes police officers as the car barreled out of the driveway of the Oakwood Apartments. Mother of slain girl files wrongful death claim
- February, 2002: Off-duty officer Steve Lee in fistfight with Gregory Hooper, a street vendor. Eyewitnesses report that after the fight ended, Lee shot the unarmed Hooper four times in the chest at point- blank range.
- March, 2002: Five officers opened fire on a mentally disabled man named Richard Tims wielding a knife, killing him. Barrage of bullets destroy a bus shelter, spray the block and hit onlooker Vilda Curry, a 39-year-old mother, causing her irreparable reproductive harm, and the loss of use of her leg.
- June 12, 2001: Idriss Stelley shot more than 20 times and killed by eight San Francisco Police Officers at the Sony Metreon. (www.justice4idriss.org).
- 2001: The case against Robert Noel and Marjorie Knoller for the death-by-dog of Diane WhippleDiane WhippleDiane Alexis Whipple was a lacrosse player and coach, who is best known as the victim of a fatal dog attack in San Francisco in January 2001. The dogs involved were two Presa Canario dogs named Bane and Hera , owned by neighbors living in the same apartment building.-Life:Whipple was born in...
.
- November 20, 2002: A scandal known as "FajitagateFajitagateFajitagate was a series of legal and political incidents in San Francisco which began with a street fight on November 20, 2002. The fight involved three off-duty San Francisco Police officers, Alex Fagan Jr., David Lee, and Matt Tonsing, and two San Francisco residents, Adam Snyder and Jade...
" occurred when three off-duty police officers—Matthew Tonsing, David Lee, and Alex Fagan Jr.—assaulted two San Francisco residents, Adam Snyder and Jade Santoro, over a bag of fajitas. Alex Fagan Jr. is the son of SFPD Assistant Chief Alex FaganAlex FaganAlex Emanuel Fagan was the former Chief of the San Francisco Police Department. Fagan was raised in the East Bay community of Richmond, California, and graduated from UC Berkeley in 1973 with a bachelor's degree in criminology. He joined the San Francisco Police Department in 1973. He received...
, who later became Chief. Nine officers and Chief Earl SandersPrentice E. SandersPrentice E. Sanders, also known as Earl Sanders, was Chief of Police of the San Francisco, California, USA Police Department for fourteen months in 2002 and 2003. He was born in Texas and moved to San Francisco's Laurel Heights at the age of fourteen, attended George Washington High School, and...
were involved in a cover up regarding the fight. This incident has led to a grand jury indictment of the parties involved. However, unable to prove that a cover up ever existed, the district attorney dropped the charges against former Chief Earl Sanders. Acting Chief Alex FaganAlex FaganAlex Emanuel Fagan was the former Chief of the San Francisco Police Department. Fagan was raised in the East Bay community of Richmond, California, and graduated from UC Berkeley in 1973 with a bachelor's degree in criminology. He joined the San Francisco Police Department in 1973. He received...
also resigned. In 2006, a civil jury found former officers Fagan and Tonsing liable for damages suffered in the beating, awarding plaintiffs Snyder and Santoro $41,000 in compensation.
- February 19, 2003: Michael Moll killed. Officers fire eight shots, striking Moll five times.
- murder conviction overturned involving police officers Earl Sanders and partner Napoleon Hendrix withholding evidence. In 2003, John Tennison and Antoine Goff were released after a federal court found Sanders and Hendrix had withheld evidence. In 2009, The City paid a $7.5 million settlement for the wrongful convictions.
- December 2005: A staged videotape of officers engaged in racist and sexist parodies was leaked. As a result, twenty officers were suspended.
- July 8, 2005: At an Anti-G8 protest, officerPeter Sheilds' skull is fractured, San Francisco police collaborate with Federal Homeland Security department and FBI in investigation of new mediaNew mediaNew media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
journalist Josh WolfJosh WolfJosh Wolf is a journalist and video blogger.Josh Wolf is also the name of:* Josh Wolf , comic appearing on season 4 of Last Comic Standing...
. Wolf is later called to testify at the grand jury and jailed for refusing to speak for 226 days.
- December 2006 to February 2007: The 'San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
' published a special report titled, The Use Of Force: When SFPD Officers Resort to Violence, detailing incidents and providing context on San Francisco police officer use of excessive force against suspects and citizens, and the consequences.
- January, 2007: Eight former Black Panthers arrested for their alleged involvement in the 1971 murder of Sgt. John V. Young at Ingleside station and other serious thirty year old crimes. Richard Brown, Richard O'Neal, Ray Boudreaux, and Hank Jones arrested in California. Francisco Torres arrested in Queens, New York. Harold Taylor arrested in Florida. Two of the men charged have been in prison for over 30 years Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim. Bail amounts running between three and five million dollars each. Supporters now call these men the San Francisco 8San Francisco 8In January 2007, eight former Black Panthers were arrested for their alleged involvement in the 1971 murder of Sgt. John V. Young at Ingleside Police station, a thirty-six year old unsolved crime....
. - May, 2008: City pays $235,000 in largest settlement in an excessive force case not involving a weapon. Lawsuit claimed San Francisco police officer Christopher Damonte used excessive force on schoolteacher Kelly Medora.
- March 2009 U.S. Justice Department reps and Police Chief Heather FongHeather FongHeather Jeanne Fong is the former chief of police for San Francisco, California, United States. Her ancestral roots are in Ho Chung village, Chung Shan County , Guangdong Province, China. She is the first woman to lead the San Francisco Police Department, and the first Asian American woman to...
muzzle Police Officers Association's leadership after they sign a letter accusing onetime Weather Underground member's Bill AyersBill AyersWilliam Charles "Bill" Ayers is an American elementary education theorist and a former leader in the movement that opposed U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He is known for his 1960s activism as well as his current work in education reform, curriculum, and instruction...
and his wife, Bernardine DohrnBernardine DohrnBernardine Rae Dohrn is a former leader of the American anti-Vietnam War radical organization, Weather Underground. She is an Associate Professor of Law at Northwestern University School of Law and the immediate past Director of Northwestern's Children and Family Justice Center...
, of being behind the nearly 1970 bombing at Park Police Station that killed a sergeant Brian McDonnell.
- December 20, 2008 Chief Heather FongHeather FongHeather Jeanne Fong is the former chief of police for San Francisco, California, United States. Her ancestral roots are in Ho Chung village, Chung Shan County , Guangdong Province, China. She is the first woman to lead the San Francisco Police Department, and the first Asian American woman to...
retires
- 2009 New Chief George GascónGeorge GascónGeorge Gascón is the District Attorney of San Francisco. Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed him to that post on January 9, 2011, to succeed Kamala Harris, who had been elected California Attorney General in November 2010....
hired,
- March 9, 2010: Police Chief George GascónGeorge GascónGeorge Gascón is the District Attorney of San Francisco. Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed him to that post on January 9, 2011, to succeed Kamala Harris, who had been elected California Attorney General in November 2010....
closes the drug testing unit of the SFPD crime lab after technician Deborah Madden admits to skimming cocaine. Hundreds of criminal cases are dismissed or discharged.