Police captain says Peskin wasn’t drunk at fire scene
A San Francisco police captain who spent much of the evening with Supervisor Aaron Peskin before and after his dressing down of Fire Department brass for their handling of the St. Patrick’s Day fire in North Beach said he saw no evidence he was intoxicated or had even been drinking that night.
“That was not my impression,” said Central Station Capt. Paul Yep. “He was animated and agitated, but I wouldn’t equate that with intoxication.”
Yep’s account contradicts internal memos written by three of Fire Chief Joanne HayesWhite’s subordinates, who asserted that Peskin was “clearly out of control” and that he
“appeared intoxicated,” noting they “smelled alcohol” on his breath.
Peskin admits to being angry at what he believed was the department’s slow response to the fire and that he let both Hayes-White and Deputy Chief of Operations Mark Gonzales know it in no uncertain terms.
But Peskin has also denied drinking before showing up at the fire scene at 659 Union St. on March 17.
Peskin’s assertion is being backed up by Yep, who has headed Central Station in North Beach for just over a year. He says he ran into the supervisor earlier in the evening at the Kong Chow Benevolent Association’s spring banquet at New Asia restaurant in Chinatown.
Yep said Peskin arrived late to the dinner and sat alone — seemingly preoccupied.
When Yep went to greet him, Peskin said he had just received a message that his father was ill and being transported by ambulance to a hospital.
A few minutes later, Peskin walked over to Yep and showed him a photo he had just received from a constituent by text about a fire on nearby Union Street. Recognizing the emergency, Yep said he excused himself to walk to the fire scene.
Peskin, who was about to be called to the podium to say a few words, remained behind.
“It’s entirely possible someone poured (me) a half glass of wine for ceremonial toasts,” Peskin said.
Moments later, Peskin caught up with Yep on foot and the two walked together to the scene at Powell and Union streets. Peskin represents both North Beach and Chinatown.
Yep said when they arrived, he began helping secure the area and lost track of Peskin. But the two reconnected later, and by then Peskin was complaining that the Fire Department was slow putting water on the fire.
Peskin then joined Yep and others to knock on doors of an adjoining apartment building to clear people from danger.
Yep’s observations are shared by community activist Stan Hayes, who stood alongside Peskin on the street corner as the fire burned.
“I’ve known Aaron a long time, and he was upset like we all were,” Hayes said. “But I didn’t have any sense of him having anything to drink at all ... and would be surprised if that was the case.”
In a March 19 memo to Hayes-White, Deputy Chief Gonzales gave a decidedly different impression of Peskin that night.
Gonzales said when he first came across Peskin, the supervisor was in the middle of the street yelling and pointing at firefighters.
“Gonzales, Gonzales get over here! Your people have screwed this up . ... Why isn’t there any water on this fire!” Peskin shouted, according to the memo. “I’m gong to destroy you.”
“There were many expletives laced throughout his emotional diatribe as he was pointing his finger at my face,” Gonzales wrote.
Peskin also told reporters on the scene that the Fire Department “blew it” and called on Chief Hayes-White to resign.
Gonzales, Hayes-White and the department’s spokesman, Lt. Jonathan Baxter, all met with Peskin in the middle of the street, where the supervisor continued his criticisms until the chief walked away.
Baxter, saying he was trained as a field sobriety test administrator, later wrote that Peskin “appeared intoxicated, based on his red eyes, slow responses and an uneasy stance.”
Two other ranking firefighters, Assistant Deputy Chief Anthony Rivera and Capt. Sherman Tillman, stated in separate memos that they “smelled alcohol” on Peskin.
Yep said he didn’t witness Peskin’s verbal blasts at the fire chief or her staff, saying his interactions with the supervisor were “sporadic” until the fire was under control — but at no time did Peskin appear intoxicated.
“The thought never even crossed my mind,” said Yep, who we reached off duty last ast week. “If you asked me now, I would say he wasn’t intoxicated.”
According to one Fire Department source, Hayes-White later ordered her staff to write up their observations of Peskin’s behavior — including anything about his alleged drinking.
But department spokeswoman Lt. Mindy Talmadge said everyone who filed a report had acted “on their own,” following departmental protocol.
“Whenever a member encounters anything unusual, they submit an unusual encounter report to the administration,” she said.
After the blaze was contained, Yep and Peskin helped round up some fire victims and took them to Central Station on nearby Vallejo Street to connect them with services. Peskin suggested they buy food for a half dozen of the victims who hadn’t eaten dinner, so the two went around the corner to Yuet Lee restaurant and placed a takeout order.
As the two waited, Yep said they sipped tea and chatted for about 15 minutes.
“I was so tired by the end of the night, and frankly, I was surprised by how much concern (Peskin) had for his residents,” Yep said.