Police Officer Association Tries to Bypass Community Process on Tasers

by Quiver Watts

This June voters will be asked to vote on an initiative put forward by the Police Officers Association (POA) that would arm every police officer with Tasers,, a lethal weapon that has long been controversial in San Francisco. The Police Commission, a body meant to enforce police accountability, approved the implementation of Tasers in SFPD in November but has undergone an extensive community process to decide when Tasers can or cannot be used. The ballot initiative would set that policy for them.

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Ballot Measures Pit Poor Communities Against Each Other

by Dayton Andrews

Two ballot measures are rushing to the June ballot this year that aim to recuperate taxes from businesses and put them to work for poor people. Both are new gross receipts taxes, or taxes on the revenue receipts taken in by businesses in San Francisco. Measure C, introduced by Norman Yee and Jane Kim, is a 3 percent tax meant to fund pay increases for child care workers. Measure D, introduced by Asha Safai, is a 1.7 percent tax meant to generate $60 million for shelter and housing for homeless people (potentially 400 units),

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GÓNGORA FAMILY: SFPD ENJOYS “100% IMPUNITY” IN SHOOTINGS

by TJ Johnston

After meeting with District Attorney George Gascón, advocates for the family of a slain homeless man learned that a decision whether to charge two San Francisco police officers who shot him would come in six to eight weeks.

But recent figures published by an activist organization suggest that the cops might go scot free.

On February 28, Gascón met with friends and family of Luis Góngora Pat to update them on his office’s investigation of the fatal shooting of Góngora Pat at a Mission District encampment in 2016.

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No justice, no deal: Time for a better contract with the police union

by FATHER RICHARD SMITH

SF cops are among the highest-paid in the country — but we aren’t getting our money’s worth, and the POA is a major obstacle to reform.

Originally run in 48 Hills March 5, 2018

Two years after the city formally committed itself to police reform, we have almost bupkis to show for it. The reason? The San Francisco Police Officers’ Association, the single, greatest obstacle to police reform in the city.

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COMMAND CENTER: POLICE RESPONSE TO HOMELESSNESS

by Kelley Cutler

The cold winter winds whipped under the freeway overpass at Dore Street and a piece of paper tied to a green tent with a rubber band flapped in the wind. In big bold lettering the message on the paper warns:  “RESOLUTION DAY: TUES. FEB. 27th, 2018”  “NOTICE TO VACATE.” The notice also notes that those who have not vacated may be subject to citation and/or arrest, and that the City will conduct a clean up of the area “including the removal of all individuals.”

About a month ago.

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Niya Uballe – Home Series

by Robert Gumpert

Name: Niya Uballe

Date: 26 February 2018

Place: Dore Street between Bryant and Brannon

Time without a home: I’ve been out of a place most of my life but in SF about 2.5 years

Age: 32

 

*What does home mean?

Home is a place to feel comfortable, to kick off your shoes and feel love, unconditional love. 

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Breaking Silence About Mental Health

by D Gigante

Why don’t we as a black community think we need to seek mental health? Why do we have to think we are crazy to see a PYSCH? Well, living in S.F. Housing Development and surviving more than 80 drive-by shootings, and over 40 murders in a 2-block radius, if you weren’t crazy you will be. We all must suffer from PTSD on some level whether we know it or not. I suffer from a severe case of PTSD and agoraphobia.

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Conservatorship Legislation Threatens Homeless San Franciscans

by Jennifer Friedenbach

State legislators are proposing a host of changes to conservatorship laws that govern when people with disabilities can be institutionalized.  While there are four different pieces of legislation being considered, one is getting a lot of play in San Francisco, and that is Senator Weiner’s legislation to change the definition of “gravely disabled” to include addiction, homelessness and frequent hospitalization.  

 

We have a tragic history of violating the civil liberties of mental health consumers – both locking them up,

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New Proposal For Coordinated Entry for Homeless Families Falls Short

by Quiver Watts

The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) has a bold plan to implement Coordinated Entry, a system intended to cut down on the runaround homeless people often must go through to get access to stable housing. Rather than being sent from provider to provider, this system would ideally keep track of all information kept by various providers on each individual and prioritize who is funneled into the limited housing units available.

The first part of this plan has already gone into effect,

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