Police Chief Says ‘Jerks’ Caused Trouble During Giants Celebrations

Fans poured into the streets of San Francisco following the Giants’ win against the Kansas City Royals in the final game of the World Series on Wednesday night, resulting in 40 arrests and numerous instances of vandalism and violence in the city.

San Francisco police Chief Greg Suhr himself was out on the streets following the big win and said he encountered a lot of “jerks.”

Suhr said that while he was out dispersing crowds and extinguishing fires following the Giants’ 3-2 Game 7 win over the Royals, he was struck in the leg by a bottle. He said that while he was uninjured, others on the police force and members of the public were not as fortunate.

Suhr said three police officers were struck with bottles by rowdy revelers and were transported to the hospital with injuries. All three officers were released from the hospitals and are doing OK, Suhr said.

The police chief said the majority of celebrators behaved “spectacularly” but about 100 were “disgraceful.”

He said of the 40 people arrested overnight, 29 were too drunk to care for themselves and were arrested for public drunkenness.

Suhr said two gun arrests were made and six people were arrested for felonies. Four were arrested for outstanding warrants, one for a misdemeanor and another for a battery in the Mission District.

Three people are in custody for aggravated assault on Polk Street, Suhr said.

There were two injury shootings reported, one on Valencia Street between 20th and 21st streets. Suhr said in that incident, two men were reportedly arguing when one took out a gun and shot at the other man, striking a passerby in the arm.

The victim is in stable condition, Suhr said.

The location of the second shooting remains under investigation, but the victim told police that he was shot at the intersection of 16th and Bryant streets.

An argument that also occurred at 21st and Valencia streets resulted in a suspect stabbing a victim three times. The victim was transported to the hospital, where he is in serious but stable condition, Suhr said.

In addition to violence, vandalism was also an issue following the game.

Marking the third World Series win for the Giants in five years, the city will host a victory parade at noon Friday and Suhr said anyone looking to make trouble during the celebration should stay home because it will not be tolerated.

Woman Files Suit Against Mayor Quan For Accident In June

A woman who was involved in a crash with Oakland Mayor Jean Quan in June has filed a lawsuit against Quan and the city seeking unspecified damages.

Lakisha Renee Lovely, a nurses’ assistant in San Francisco, alleges in her suit, which was filed in Alameda County Superior Court on Wednesday, that she sustained severe bodily injury because of Quan’s actions in the collision in West Oakland shortly after 5:30 p.m. on June 8.

Lovely alleges that Quan is guilty of malice and her actions “show a conscious disregard of the rights and safety of others and are contemptible, vile and despicable.”

Quan told reporters the day after the accident that she was driving between two community events in West Oakland when another car struck the left rear tire of her car.

Lovely alleges that Quan was on her cellphone in violation of California law at the time of the accident but Quan said in a statement Thursday, “I was unequivocally not on my phone.”

Oakland police have said that investigators haven’t been able to determine whether cellphones were in use at the time of the collision, either by Quan or Lovely.

Quan said in her statement, “First and foremost, I am grateful that no one was seriously hurt in the crash and am glad to be alive today.

The fact is that the back of my vehicle was struck by the other driver with such force that it spun me around.”

The mayor said, “I wish the other driver well and continue to focus on the priorities of the people of Oakland: intervening in street violence, creating strong partnerships with our schools, building affordable housing, and bringing living wage jobs to our residents.”

Quan is facing 14 opponents in her bid to be re-elected in the election next Tuesday.

Attorneys Reviewing Cases Involving Chp Officers Involved In Nude Photo-Sharing Scandal

Contra Costa and Alameda County prosecutors and public defenders are reviewing cases involving three Dublin-area California Highway Patrol officers currently under investigation for allegedly sharing nude photos of DUI suspects, officials said Thursday.

Attorneys are reviewing both current and closed cases involving CHP officers Sean Harrington, Robert Hazelwood and Dion Simmons to determine whether they should be revisited or dismissed, officials said.

Contra Costa County prosecutors said that a decision has not yet been made about whether to charge any of the officers.

Robin Lipetzky, the county’s Public Defender, said that she has asked the district attorney’s office for a list of cases involving the three officers for review but has not yet received it. She said her office is also working on launching its own review of cases involving any of the accused officers.

“I think (the CHP) should be investigating and I think other police departments should be on notice to conduct investigations because this is something that could go beyond the CHP,” Lipetzky said.

CHP Golden Gate Division Chief Avery Browne denounced the explicit photo-sharing during a news conference on Saturday, saying that he believes the alleged misconduct did not go beyond the Dublin-area CHP office.

Both the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Teresa Drenick and county Public Defender Brendon Woods also said that their offices are reviewing cases in which the three officers are involved.

The nude photo-sharing scandal was uncovered earlier this month after a 23-year-old San Ramon woman who had been arrested for DUI in August alleged that Harrington sent nude and semi-nude photos from her cell phone to his own phone while she was in custody, according to court documents.

Harrington told the investigator that the practice of sharing female arrestees’ nude photos was not uncommon in the Dublin-area CHP office and that he first learned of the practice while working at a CHP office in Los Angeles, search warrant records show.

Harrington has been placed on paid administrative leave while Hazelwood is still at work but has been assigned to administrative duties, according to CHP spokeswoman Officer Dianna McDermott. Simmons is still considered a witness in the investigation and has not been pulled from normal duties.

Resident Accuses Sfpd Of Mishandling Domestic Violence Incident, Failing To Provide Interpreter

A San Francisco resident, with the help of civil rights advocacy groups, filed a citizen complaint Thursday alleging the San Francisco Police Department failed to provide an interpreter when responding to a report of domestic violence.

The Asian Law Caucus, together with the Latina women’s organization Mujeres Unidas y Activas, filed a complaint on behalf of resident Dora Mejia with the city’s Office of Citizen Complaints and a California Tort Act administrative claim against police for failing to provide language access and wrongfully arresting a victim of domestic violence.

Mejia said she was exhausted when she came home from work one day in May. She got into a fight with her ex-partner, who refused to leave her apartment after they broke up and called the police on her.

Mejia doesn’t speak English and officers told her there were no Spanish-speaking officers available even though they provided an interpreter to her abuser, she said. They also didn’t offer her an opportunity to call the Police Department’s telephone interpretation line, she said.

Mejia said the officers arrested her and separated her from her children.

“I felt discriminated against,” Mejia said through an interpreter.

“Sometimes, out of fear, it’s hard to speak out. It becomes even harder to speak about abuse … when the police refuse to offer us protection when we do find the courage to speak up.”

San Francisco police spokeswoman Sgt. Monica Mcdonald said the department is “committed to the continued efforts to ensure that all citizens have the ability to report and provide information in their native languages.”

Speaking at a news conference Thursday morning, Asian Law Caucus senior attorney Angela Chan said Mejia’s case is not an isolated one.

Three Injured, One Arrested In Stabbing In Evergreen Neighborhood

Three people were injured in a triple stabbing in San Jose’s Evergreen neighborhood Thursday evening, according to police.

Officers were called to the 3800 block of Whinney Place Way around 5 p.m. on a report of a stabbing, according to police.

They found three people there with stab wounds, none of them life threatening.

An adult male suspect was arrested and booked into Santa Clara
County Jail.

The stabbing remains under investigation and the motive and circumstances remain unknown at this time, police said.

Detective Shoots Auto Burglary Suspect In Mall Parking Lot

A police detective shot and injured an auto burglary suspect who drove his car at the detective in a parking lot at the Pacific East Mall in Richmond Thursday afternoon, a police captain said.

The two detectives were walking through the parking lot at the mall, located at 3288 Pierce St., at about 12:10 p.m. when they spotted a 19-year-old Alameda man who allegedly broke the window of a parked car to burglarize it, police Capt. Mark Gagan said.

The detectives attempted to detain the man, but he ran back to his own car parked several aisles away and got inside.

One of the detectives went to the driver’s side door, which remained open, and the other stood in front of the car, Gagan said.

The suspect accelerated toward the officer in front of the car, prompting him to fire his gun several times through the car’s windshield and then through the open driver’s side door as the suspect sped past him. The suspect was struck by bullets several times in the lower extremities, Gagan said.

Neither detective was injured.

The suspect escaped and drove about a mile away, but crashed into several parked cars and a fire hydrant in the 500 block of Cleveland Street in Albany.

The suspect was taken to a hospital in critical condition. He is in police custody and under guard at the hospital, Gagan said.

Police Arrest Suspect Who Killed High School Student During Attempted Marijuana Robbery

Vacaville police on Thursday arrested a suspect in the Oct. 6 murder of Vacaville High School student Demetrious Ward.

Ward, 18, was shot in the head around 1:30 a.m. as he sat in a Ford F-150 truck in the parking lot of the Canyon Creek Apartments at 159 Aegean Way.

He had surgery at a hospital and died at 4:30 a.m.

Police contacted several people who knew Ward and the suspect, Alijondro Edward Jones, 20, of Vacaville, police Lt. Matt Lydon said. Jones and Ward knew of each other and the investigation determined that Jones intended to rob Ward of a small amount of marijuana at the time Ward was shot, Lydon said.

“This was not random,” Lydon said.

Vacaville police detectives contacted Jones Thursday morning around 10:30 a.m. when he arrived for a meeting with his probation officer, Lydon said.

Jones was arrested without incident on suspicion of murder, attempted robbery and probation violations and booked in the Solano County jail.

Jones has previous arrests for domestic violence offenses, Lydon said.

Ice Agents Seize 2,700 Pieces Of Counterfeit MLB Gear

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seized more than 2,700 items of counterfeit Major League Baseball merchandise worth $80,000 from Bay Area vendors, agency representatives said Thursday.

The merchandise includes phony T-shirts, counterfeit baseball hats and beanies, tote bags and pennants, said agents with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations team.

ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said agents seized the merchandise over the course of the past week from vendors in downtown San Francisco and around AT&T Park as vendors tried to cash in on the Giants’ World Series run.

The fake MLB merchandise is imported primarily from China and it’s usually pretty easy to spot, Kice said.

“We do encounter some very sophisticated and high quality counterfeits,” Kice said. “But in a lot of cases, you can look at the way it’s put together — the stitching, the logos — and tell that it’s not genuine.”

Kice said some items had names of prominent athletes misspelled or logos sewn on upside down.

“Those are pretty easy to spot,” she said.

There have been no arrests so far, but Kice said the investigation is ongoing.

Brentwood Man Arrested In Stunt Ride On I-680 Involving About 50 Motorcyclists

The California Highway Patrol arrested a 32-year-old Brentwood man Wednesday during an investigation into about 50 motorcycle riders who were allegedly doing stunts and evading law enforcement on Interstate Highway 680 between Milpitas and San Jose earlier this month, officials said Thursday.

The CHP arrested Guruardas Singh Khalsa at 6:25 p.m. Wednesday on suspicion of being an accessory after the fact, a felony, and obstructing a police officer, a misdemeanor, Capt. Jim Libby said at a news conference at the CHP’s San Jose office. He was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility in Contra Costa County

Khalsa, a professional motorcycle stunt rider, allegedly took and posted on YouTube a video of the alleged stunt ride on Oct. 11 by the fast-driving group on Highway 680. In the video, he is seen taunting a CHP motorcycle officer trying to stop him and then driving his own motorcycle on its back wheel, CHP officials said.

Many other motorcyclists in the video can be seen speeding by and doing wheelies in various lanes of the freeway.

The CHP’s investigative services unit last week used the video and other postings online to identify and trace him to a location in Brentwood, CHP Capt. Les Bishop said.

“I’d like to send the message out to any group or any motorcycle rider that thinks they are going to get away with this kind of behavior on our freeways, just know that while apprehension may not be immediate it is likely imminent,” Bishop said.

On Oct. 11, a CHP officer observed around 50 motorcyclists heading southbound on I-680 from the Montague Expressway in Milpitas, disregarding public safety and engaging in “juvenile acts” such as “speeding, doing wheel stands,” taunting the officer and ignoring his commands, Bishop said.

The officer decided for safety reasons to pull over and call for a back up officer, but by the time the other officer arrived, the motorcyclists had left, exiting about three miles south onto McKee Road in East San Jose, according to the CHP.

Tour Bus Driver Cited In Collision That Killed Pedestrian

San Francisco police have cited a tour bus driver on suspicion of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter following a fatal collision involving a City Hall worker last week, police said Thursday.

Menlo Park resident Raymond Lucas, 65, was cited and released Tuesday following the collision that happened at about 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 23 at the corner of Polk and McAllister streets.

The pedestrian, who police said was in the crosswalk at the time of the accident, was identified as 68-year-old Priscila “Precy” Moreto, an accountant in the San Francisco City Controller’s Office and resident of San Francisco.

Police said they do not think drugs or alcohol were in Lucas’s system when he was driving the bus. A spokesman for Classic Cable Car Charters, the company that operates the bus that hit Moreto, was not immediately available Thursday to comment about the case.

Last week, company general manager Chris Connors said he extended his condolences to Moreto’s family and that his company is cooperating with the police investigation.

The case has not yet been presented to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, district attorney’s office spokesman Max Szabo said.

All Public Schools Dismissed Because Of Gas Odor Retransmitting

All Oakland public schools were dismissed early Thursday because of a strong odor of natural gas spreading through the city, school district officials said.

Initially the school district only evacuated five schools in the West Oakland, downtown and Lake Merritt areas, but said at about 3:30 p.m. that all schools citywide, including preschools, will be dismissed.

School district officials said the smell appears to be a result of an incident at a PG&E facility. A fire dispatcher said the source of the smell appeared to be in West Oakland.

PG&E officials said that they were investigating the source of the smell but had not determined where it was coming from as of Thursday evening.

PG&E spokeswoman Tamar Sarkissian said PG&E had received reports about the smell primarily in the downtown Oakland, West Oakland and Lake Merritt areas.

City spokeswoman Karen Boyd said that City Hall, the Ronald Dellums Federal Building and other downtown office buildings were evacuated because of the smell as of about 1:30 p.m. but the evacuation was lifted at about 2:30 p.m.

A BART dispatcher said that BART received reports of the odor from the 12th Street, 19th Street, Lake Merritt, West Oakland and Embarcadero stations.

The smell did not caused any disruption in BART service and the fire department checked the stations and everything there was safe, BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said.

Alameda fire officials said that the smell was also noticeable in their city.

Jerry Brown Casts Vote At Registrar Of Voters Office

Accompanied by his wife Anne Gust and his Welsh corgi Sutter, Gov. Jerry Brown came to the Alameda County Registrar of Voter’s office in Oakland Thursday to cast his ballot in the Nov. 4 election.

Speaking to a large group of reporters after he voted, Brown said the state’s long ballot is “relatively complicated” so his message to California residents is to “vote early.”

It took Brown about 10 minutes to fill out his ballot as reporters watched patiently.

In honor of the San Francisco Giants winning the World Series, Brown wore an orange tie, Gust wore an orange sweater and Sutter wore an orange collar.

Brown, who was born in San Francisco and lived there for much of his life, said, “I’m quite proud of the Giants but I also want Oakland to come back,” referring to the Oakland A’s.

Brown moved to Oakland in the 1990s, served as the city’s mayor from 1999 to 2007 and still lives in the city when he’s not in Sacramento.

Brown said “I feel good” when asked about his chances against Republican Neel Kashkari in the election, but said that he doesn’t want to assume anything at this point.

Brown said California was in bad shape when he took office but he said, “We’ve come back” in his four years in office.

He said, “We’re not perfect or utopia but we’re very strong.”

Brown told reporters that if he’s re-elected, “I guarantee the next four years will be exciting and you will have lots to write about.”

Brown is seeking an unprecedented fourth term as California’s governor. He served for two terms from January 1975 through January 1983 and was elected to a third term in 2010.

But he said he still won’t be able to ignore political considerations and do whatever he wants in the next four years.

“You can never throw caution to the wind, you can’t threaten your constituencies and you can’t burn your bridges, even in your last term,” Brown said.

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A female pedestrian was in stable condition Thursday after being struck by the driver of a vehicle parking in San Francisco’s Castro District on Wednesday afternoon, a police spokesman said.

The woman was hit at about 3:40 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of 16th and Pond streets, about a block from Market Street and two blocks from Castro Street, San Francisco police Officer Gordon Shyy said.

The driver of the vehicle, described as a man in his 60s, was reportedly backing into a parking spot when he hit the pedestrian, Shyy said.

The victim was transported to San Francisco General Hospital with trauma to her head that was initially considered life-threatening, according to police.

However, Shyy said the woman is now in stable condition and recovering from her injuries.

He said the driver remained at the scene following the collision and has not been cited by police.