More police patrols after robbery
After video surfaced of a brutal daylight robbery of a wedding photographer at the Palace of Fine Arts, District Two Supervisor Catherine Stefani said she secured additional police patrols for the Palace grounds and the Chestnut Street commercial district.
In an announcement released Tuesday, Stefani said she had worked out a deal with the San Francisco Police Department to increase patrols of these busy areas by uniformed officers from five days a week to seven.
Stefani also announced a separate program to increase patrols on the Chestnut, Union and Fillmore Street merchant strips by SFPD Community Ambassadors. That increase in security will be funded by $300,000 in leftover budget funds for 2022 that are distributed at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors. Stefani said the increased police presence would be paid for by officers working overtime, which is not a permanent solution.
“San Francisco doesn’t have enough police officers, and we see the reallife impacts of our staffing crisis every day,” she said in a text message to The Chronicle. “Whether it is armed robberies at the Palace of Fine Arts or the unending string of small business burglaries, San Franciscans don’t feel safe.”
Police spokesperson Robert Rueca declined to provide specifics as to how many officers will be detailed to the Marina, and how the increased police presence will be paid for.
“We are precluded from providing information that speaks to police tactics and investigative capabilities,” he said in an email.
The action follows an incident on Nov. 9 when two men wearing hoodies and masks, and brandishing guns approached a wedding photographer at work on the lawn. As the bride looked on and the video camera rolled, the photographer resisted and was dragged around by camera straps. After a struggle, the thieves took the bag and hustled to a getaway car waiting on Baker Street. Robert Rueca said there have been no arrests in the Nov. 9 robbery. The investigation is ongoing.
“The SFPD is aware of recent high-profile robberies in the Marina and other popular city destinations,” police chief Bill Scott said in a statement.
“The public can expect to see an increased police presence in and around the Palace of Fine Arts, Fillmore, Pacific Heights, Union Street and other high-traffic and heavily populated residential areas, tourist destinations and business corridors,” he said.