Capt. Marsha Ashe: Police Beat

The column I originally wrote for this month's paper was about graffiti and a follow-up on April's column.

Last month I wrote about the remarkable effort required to capture and prosecute an auto burglar. In the month after his arrest and prosecution, our statistics for auto burglaries dropped 33 percent. As remarkable as it seems, this individual constituted a one-man crime wave.

I also wanted to remind the community to contact 241-WASH for assistance from the SF Department of Public Works for graffiti removal. This month's May Community/Police Forum at the Richmond Police Station (Tuesday, May 21, 7 p.m.) will be an opportunity to meet officers directly engaged in stopping this and other blights in your neighborhood.

That sums up the original column. Then, on April 21, I was reminded about a much more noxious blight.

A 70-year-old man, a gentleman by all accounts, was run over by a car while walking across the street at Fulton Street and 24th Avenue. Some minutes later a motorist noticed a pair of shoes in the crosswalk as another person noticed the man lying in the street. These two Good Samaritans, both women, stopped their cars and called for help.

The two women directed traffic around the man and protected and comforted him as best they could until paramedics and police officers arrived. He died several hours later.

Although the cause of the accident is under investigation, speed and disregard for the safety of others no doubt played a part. The driver who hit him fled the scene and remains unidentified.

Effective traffic calming involves three components. Generally referred to as the "3 E's," they are engineering, enforcement and education.

All three of our shifts field a traffic unit whose sole responsibility remains traffic safety and enforcement. The department's motorcycles are deployed daily in the district and make even more traffic stops.

Sgt. Ray Mullane coordinates a targeted enforcement effort which sends officers out each week with the single goal of slowing down traffic by highly visible enforcement.

Officer Michael Hutton, a night watch officer, just received national recognition from Mothers Against Drunk Driving for what they correctly referred to as his "heroic enforcement efforts."

On the daywatch, sergeants routinely send out the early shift along the major commute corridors to slow traffic and minimize hazards. Combined, these efforts result in an average of 1,000 traffic citations a month.

The obvious reason for these details is to increase enforcement, which traditionally lowers the injury accident rate. But each stop also involves an education component.

Officers must always advise - some would argue lecture - drivers to attend driver's education courses to increase their awareness of safe driving.

Stop signs, traffic lights, crosswalks, directional traffic flow and pedestrian signals are examples of effective re-engineering.

The California Motor Vehicle Code defines driving as a privilege. This definition has withstood every legal challenge and like all privileges, it requires responsibility. Unfortunately, this attitude and mindfulness seem impossible to test but it is apparent, though, whenever we choose to drive safely with due regard to others.

Individual drivers have ample opportunity to demonstrate this responsibility. This trait shows up when drivers stop at the orange light, instead of punching it through the intersection because he or she is late to an appointment. It is manifested in the person who really does circle the block to look for some reasonable parking rather than jeopardize someone else's safety by double parking on a busy street to "just dash in."

Choices like driving the speed limit, stopping for pedestrians stranded at the median divider, and exercising extreme caution when vision is obstructed, like driving into a blinding sun, may seem inconsequential. But these small decisions resonate throughout a community and are probably the most powerful tool to prevent injury accidents.

In fact, had drivers and pedestrians exercised these seemingly minor acts, almost all of the fatal accidents in the Richmond would have been prevented. This is true power. It can't be legislated and it can't be tested.

The most recent tragedy has limited leads, but with Inspector Mike Mahoney investigating, this will quickly change. He has already identified the make and model of the car. From glass shards left at the scene, he was able to determined the vehicle to be a 2000-2002 BMW 300 Series, probably with some front end damage. Anyone who has further information should call Mahoney at 553-1641.

Until next month, stay safe.

Capt. Marsha Ashe is the commanding officer at the Richmond Police Station.