The crimes below are a small snapshot of what the officers of Northern Station are doing. For a more comprehensive list, visit www.sf-police.org; under Compstat, there is a link to CrimeMAPS.
SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE
Monday, June 10, 3:15 p.m.
Van Ness Avenue at O’Farrell
A plainclothes officer detained a subject suspected in yet a different phone theft. A victim, who positively identified the subject, said he was riding the bus and using his iPhone when someone grabbed the phone from his hands and ran off the bus. The victim chased the three subjects, but when he caught up with them several blocks later, one of the subjects punched him in the head. The subjects then split up and ran in different directions; the victim pursued the one he believed had his phone.
At this point, the plainclothes officer was able to catch the subject and take him into custody. The subject gave the victim his phone back and apologized. Nonetheless, he was booked at the Community Assessment and Referral Center.
“IT IS GONNA HAPPEN”
Thursday, June 13, 8:05 a.m.
Market Street at Larkin
Officers responded to a caller complaining of a knife-wielding man who was picking fights with people. When the officers arrived, one of them recognized the subject, who was sitting on the ground with two knives in front of him. The caller said he had been harassed and threatened by the subject on multiple occasions. The officers ran a check on the subject and learned that he had been arrested in the past for attempted murder when he stabbed a homeless male multiple times. They brought the subject to Northern Station and booked him, during the course of which the subject threatened an officer, saying he would “do you with a piano wire.” The subject then said that it wasn’t a threat, because “it is gonna happen.”
FIRESTARTER
Tuesday, June 25, 5:16 a.m.
Van Ness Avenue at Turk
A caller informed the police that he had been walking his dog when he saw a female lighting a fire and attempting to stoke it. Officers arrived to find the subject near a building doorway that was engulfed in flames. The officers detained the subject and called for the Fire Department, which quickly controlled the fire. Officers searched the subject and found several lighters in her pockets. She was booked at Northern Station.
NABBING THE ATM BANDIT
Tuesday, July 2, 12:20 a.m.
Polk Street at Eddy
A victim yelling, “Help me, I’ve been robbed,” flagged down some officers. He said he was at an ATM withdrawing $100 when he was approached from behind by a male subject who put a knife to his neck and said, “Give me all your money or I’ll slit your throat.” As he was relating the story to the officers, the victim spotted the subject walking nearby, and the police were able to detain the subject without further incident. They found the knife the subject had tossed under a nearby car, and they also found he had a warrant for his arrest. Video from a nearby security camera was used as evidence, and the subject was booked at Northern Station.
HOPSCOTCHED
Friday, July 5, no time given
Eddy Street at Laguna
While taking part in a citywide operation against auto-boosting in mid-June, a plain-clothes officer observed a vehicle illegally parked in a high-crime area. A computer check revealed that the vehicle had been stolen. The car then pulled out into the flow of traffic, and the officer followed. When the car made an abrupt U-turn, the officer was able to get a description of the male driver. Despite the officer’s call for a marked police unit to stop the subject’s car, and his broadcasting of the driver’s description, vehicle description, and direction of travel, the subject was still able to get away.
A couple weeks later, officers saw the suspected driver of the stolen car riding a bike around Eddy and Laguna streets. Once again, the rider tried to get away, but having only a bicycle, he couldn’t get too far. He stopped the bike in front of an apartment building and ran inside. Officers made sure he couldn’t exit the building from the rear door, and then they located the subject inside the building and took him into custody. He had been heading for the roof in an apparent attempt to flee by hopping from the building’s roof onto the next building. Officers recognized him from the description of the driver of the stolen vehicle, and a computer check revealed four prior arrests for auto theft. He was booked at Northern Station.
GO FARTHER
Monday, July 8, 10:55 p.m.
Gough Street at Jackson
Uniformed officers observed a vintage 1980s-model Ford Mustang with numerous equipment violations, including no license plate lamp during darkness, broken turn signals, and others. They intended to issue the driver a citation for the violations. The driver abruptly stopped his car on a steep hill and turned off the ignition, even though it appeared that the old car was not going to stop safely on the hill. The subject refused to move the car, as it slowly rolled back down the hill; he was removed from the car and an officer was able to enter and guide the car to a safe parking space, where it was secured.
The subject told the police that he was on probation for burglary and that he has a search condition. An officer performed a probation search of the car and discovered a “belt buckle knife” on the floorboard of the car behind the driver’s seat. The driver was arrested for the prohibited weapon violation and was booked at Northern Station.
The car had to be towed as a hazard.
