Capt. Sandra Tong: Police Beat

The San Francisco Police Commission will be holding its regularly scheduled meeting in the Richmond District on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at the Community Meeting Room at the Richmond Station, 461 Sixth Ave., at 6 p.m.
Please come and meet police commissioners and command staff and get an update on the local crime scene. I will make a presentation to the commission and there will be several citizen commendations. Our regular community meeting scheduled for Feb. 25 will not be held because of the special Police Commission meeting.

Were You Wondering What Was Going On at Stow Lake?
Officers Steve Mooney, Rosemarie Castro, David Burns, Kathryn Waaland, David Nakasu, Gary Mendribil, Bobby Cheung and Sgt. Tom Lee all arrived at Strawberry Hill (the island in the middle of Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park) because of a report of two males with a rifle and a report of "shots fired."

The two bridges to the island were immediately blocked off and when officers approached the top of the hill, the two young men started running away from them. The two men jumped into the lake, without the weapon, and escaped. A search for the suspects was to no avail.

During the course of the investigation, a citizen provided police with information about a vehicle possibly belonging to the two men. At the direction of acting Lt. Jerry Ishida, officer Mooney conducted a surveillance of the parked vehicle. Approximately three hours later, Mooney observed two white males drive up to the suspect vehicle and a traffic stop was made on both vehicles.

The suspect stated he and an unnamed friend were shooting his pellet rifle atop of Strawberry Hill. When they saw police officers approaching, they hid the rifle and fled. Because there was reasonable suspicion that both men were engaging in a crime when they fled officers and refused a police officer's demand to halt, the man was arrested. The man was also charged with an additional infraction - wading in a park lake.

Goodbye Jim
On Jan. 8 we said goodbye to officer Jim Strange, the "beat" officer for Geary Boulevard. Jim and his wife Maryann were in the old S.F. Police Department limousine touring the district that day - and now you know why.

Strange retired after 32 years of service with the S.F. Police Department. He worked at the Central, Southern, Ingleside and Mission stations and the Tenderloin Task Force before finishing his career at the Richmond Station. Station personnel and the residents and business owners in the Richmond District know him as a fine and diligent officer who will be missed. Good luck Jim.

Would You Believe?
Never leave anything in plain view in your vehicle. It is an open invitation for a burglar. Things that have been stolen from vehicles include cell phones, gym bags, handbags, coats, brief cases and - believe it or not - fresh baked cinnamon rolls.

Capt. Sandra Tong is the commanding officer at the Richmond Station.