Commission honors two civilians for protecting tourists; schedules joint pedestrian-and-bike safety meeting

At its Oct. 9 meeting the San Francisco Police Commission presented certificates of appreciation to Marwan Aberama and Iyad Aberama for their actions on Jan. 16, 2013, when the two civilians helped protect a visiting mother and her young daughter from a man described in the presentation as mentally unstable.

An inspector read a memorandum describing how the mother and child ran into a market at 689 Gary Street, where Marwan and his son sheltered them, confronted the suspect, and stayed with the scene until police arrived. The inspector noted the pair later testified at trial and the suspect was convicted.

"I just wanna say thank you guys for the certificate of appreciation," one recipient said, adding that anyone would have acted the same way to protect a frightened child.

The commission adopted the recognition by motion and voice vote. Commissioners praised the recipients as "upstanders" and suggested the commission explore additional ways to publicly honor exemplary citizens.

Separately, commissioners agreed to pursue a joint meeting with the Board of Supervisors— Public Safety Committee to discuss pedestrian and bicycle safety. The commission discussed possible timing (a community meeting in Bayview on Oct. 23 and a joint session on Nov. 14), emphasized the need for the department to bring relevant data, and asked staff to agendize the topic for the upcoming community meeting so the commission can decide whether to proceed with the joint session.

The meeting closed with a motion to adjourn in honor of Bernard Kern, a longtime San Francisco resident, which passed by voice vote.