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Police chief and commanders describe homicide trends, housing‑authority tactics and an elevator death investigation
Summary
At its Dec. 3 meeting, the San Francisco Police Department reported year‑to‑date homicide figures near 97, said nonfatal shootings are down in targeted zones, outlined eviction and 'stay‑away' strategies in public housing, and described an ongoing death investigation at 55 New Montgomery.
San Francisco police officials told the Police Commission Wednesday that, despite reductions in nonfatal shootings in targeted zones, the city’s year‑to‑date homicide total remained near the previous year’s figure and that the department is pursuing both enforcement and community‑engagement strategies to address violent crime.
Deputy Chief Cashman reported the department’s year‑to‑date homicide count as 97 at the time of the briefing, compared with 98 for all of the prior year. He highlighted gains in removing illegal firearms from the streets and said the department is seeing more nightclub‑related and spontaneous violence, with many victims and suspects having extensive prior contacts with the criminal justice system.
Commissioners pressed for more granular data on homicide clearances, arrest numbers and neighborhood trends. Deputy Chief Cashman agreed to provide the requested breakdown and emphasized the department’s zone‑specific strategies, probation compliance efforts and collaboration with community organizations and faith leaders.
Commander Lee Orlando (identified in the record as the housing authority liaison) briefed the commission on policing in housing authority developments. He said roughly 6,200 family and senior/disabled units exist across about 50 developments, that officers are assigned to several priority sites, and that the department has used evictions and "stay‑away" orders to remove repeat offenders from properties. Commander Orlando said the housing properties saw single‑digit homicides for the year and described coordination with the district attorneys’ misdemeanor intake units on enforcement of stay‑away violations.
The commission also heard a briefing on an elevator‑shaft death at 55 New Montgomery in which a man, identified in the record as Daniel Kleeman, was found at the bottom of an elevator shaft. Lieutenant Spillane said the case is being handled as a death investigation with coordination between SFPD evidence teams, the crime lab and the medical examiner; Cal/OSHA has opened a parallel investigation of the building’s elevator systems.
Commissioners asked for follow‑up reports: a more detailed year‑end homicide analysis and neighborhood breakdowns for Part I crimes, and more specific clearance and arrest statistics for homicides and related violent‑crime categories. Chief and command staff said they will return with requested data and a regional coordination update.
