Capt. Denis O'Leary: Police Beat

Be Careful What You Pray For
On Oct. 16, two citizens were concerned that the police had a lost identification card, so they called 911 - 11 times in 15 minutes.
Officers Hoke, Dullea, Economus and Cunningham responded and found the pair at Muni's West Portal Station. Both denizens were too inebriated to care for themselves and were arrested. One of the two had a dagger and a switchblade knife in his possession.
Both were brought to Taraval Station and booked accordingly. No identification card was found.

Decisions, Decisions
On the evening of Oct. 23 Sgt. Jeff Barry saw a car being driven recklessly in the intersection of Ocean Avenue and Forest View Drive. The driver was conducting his own "side show." However, there was no audience - save the two passengers in the car.
Barry stopped the car on Forest View. The driver was obviously under the influence of alcohol so Barry ordered him out of the car.
The driver resisted Barry's attempts to handcuff him and Barry found himself surrounded by the other occupants of the car. Barry was able to verbally control the two passengers - they complied with his commands and returned to their seats in the car. The driver continued to fight with Barry and the good sergeant soon found himself holding onto his own left hand - it had been caught up in his own handcuffs.
While nursing his injury and dividing his attention between the driver and the two aggressive passengers, Barry lost hold of the driver and had to choose between chasing the man - who was now running away with one wrist handcuffed - or holding onto possible evidence and/or contraband in the car.
Barry's dilemma was resolved when SF State University Police Sgt. Ron Lam arrived and chased the driver, whom he caught two blocks away.
The man was booked for misdemeanor charges at Taraval Station.

Slow to Anger
A man checked on his bicycle Oct. 25, which he had locked securely outside his home near Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way, and discovered that someone had stolen the bike's headlight and accompanying battery pack.
Shrugging off his misfortune, the victim reentered his home to eat breakfast. Ten minutes later, the victim discovered that thieves had since made off with the handlebar assembly of the bike.
Incensed, the victim commenced to search the neighborhood for the perpetrators. He soon found two men sitting next to three unattended bicycles at 10th Avenue and Lincoln Way.
Officers Leung, Choy, Arquero, Franco, Chang and Hui of the Taraval Station's midnight watch quickly had the two suspects detained. The victim identified the parts that belonged to his bicycle.
Apodaca took over the investigation and was able to gather a confession from one of the suspects. Both men were booked on felony charges at Taraval Station.

The Long Arm of the Law
During the morning of Oct. 25, officers Rebollini and Haynes responded to a supermarket in the 3900 block of Alemany Boulevard. There, the officers found that store personnel had placed a suspected shoplifter in custody.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the thief was also wanted for felony charges pending in Pensacola, Florida. The suspect was booked at Taraval Station.
Capt. Denis O'Leary is the commanding officer at the Taraval Police Station.