SFPD reports drop in major crimes year to date; recent officer-involved shooting, gambling bust and ‘blessing’ scams highlighted

Chief Scott of the San Francisco Police Department told the Police Commission that overall Part 1 crime is down 36% year to date and said property crimes are driving much of the decline.

"Overall, there is a 36% reduction in part 1 crime year to date," Chief Scott said. He told the commission violent crime was down 14% and property crime down 39%, with car burglaries down about 76% from roughly 1,100 last year to about 451 this year.

The chief flagged a recent cluster of shootings and five nonfatal shootings in the past week. He said one of the major incidents was an officer-involved shooting on Jan. 27 at 4:54 p.m. at Ninth and Mission; the victim was transported and is in stable condition. "The incident resulted in an officer involved shooting," he said, and thanked a Good Samaritan who provided medical aid prior to paramedics' arrival.

Scott also described other recent incidents: a Jan. 30 shooting in the 900 block of the Bayview in which the victim was shot twice and a sibling suspect fled but was later arrested; a Feb. 2 shooting in Hunters Point in which a victim self-transported to the hospital and sustained non-life-threatening injuries; a dispute on a block of Cesar Chavez that produced a gunshot wound and an arrest; and a Feb. 2 Mission District report that investigators determined was a self-inflicted wound and attempted suicide.

The department reported a separate, multi-week investigation into an underground gambling operation that led to search warrants on three businesses in the Tenderloin, the seizure of multiple gambling machines, narcotics, and more than $30,000 in cash. Chief Scott said four people were arrested and 11 adults were cited for various misdemeanors.

He also described a DMACC (fugitive recovery) operation in which task-force officers made 59 arrests during a one-day enforcement action targeting people with outstanding warrants. "Really good work by our Tenderloin and DMACC and southern station officers," the chief said.

The department said it has seen at least seven incidents of so-called "blessing scams," aimed largely at elderly victims. Scott said the department has worked with Chinese community groups and the district attorney’s office to distribute flyers, issue a public video and run merchant/community walks to raise awareness. "We had a victim or a potential victim who actually got information from the information we have been putting out and recognized what was happening," Scott said.

Commissioners asked follow-up questions about the officer-involved shooting, ballistics, the shooter’s prior contacts with law enforcement and whether mental-health concerns were known; the chief said the investigation is ongoing, numerous firearms were recovered from the suspect's residence and investigators are checking for connections to other incidents.

The chief also addressed social-media reports alleging ICE activity in the city, saying several of those posts were false and at least one vehicle shown in photographs was a California Department of Fish and Wildlife vehicle, not federal immigration agents. He reiterated that the department does not participate in federal immigration enforcement and that the department will work with the city attorney and other departments to ensure officers have clear guidance on encounters with federal agents.

Ending: Chief Scott closed the report by thanking officers and community partners for collaborative work on public-safety problems and pledged continued outreach and investigations on the items he raised.