March 18 2003

Pulitzer for Ross

I want to be the first to nominate John Ross for the Pulitzer prize for journalism for his brilliant dispatches from Baghdad. His work exemplifies the finest tradition of war correspondents who report the unvarnished truth from the combat zone, and to hell with the official protocol. Wish that we had more like him in our nation's news media and hope he makes it back in one piece.

William Lloyd Roller San Francisco

Chief Ward?

The way things are run in this town (one of the worst homicide-solving rates in the country, racial politics, etc.), I won't be surprised if the next police chief is Doris Ward.

Steven M. Gray San Francisco

Civilian control over SFPD

The recent criminal indictments of the San Francisco Police Department top brass gives new meaning to the phrase "chickens coming home to roost."

For over 20 years, the SFPD has been plagued with scandals from the Dan White case, the beating of United Farm Workers leader Dolores Huerta, the beating deaths of Aaron Williams and Mark Garcia, and the shooting death of Sheila Detoy. These scandals have been ignored, or covered up, by the top brass and their political protectors in City Hall. An internal culture in the SFPD has evolved of tolerating cowboy cops who abuse the rights of people of color and gays and lesbians, and that internal culture has been externally supported by a series of mayors from Dianne Feinstein to Willie Brown, who uncritically support the SFPD and are beholden to the Police Officers Association.

The Police Commission has acted as a rubber stamp for the top brass. The commissioners are political appointees of the mayor who act as his marionettes, as we recently saw when they refused to suspend indicted Chief Sanders.

There is no real, effective independent civilian control of the SFPD. The Office of Citizen Complaints (OCC) operates under the Police Commission and the mayor; it is not an effective deterrent to police misconduct. The entire system of "civilian control" over the police in San Francisco must be restructured, or we will continue to see such scandals again and again. Our progressive supervisors should begin hearings on restructuring the SFPD, Police Commission, and OCC to ensure that errant officers are effectively disciplined.

Kim Malcheski San Francisco

The price of Muni

So now we'll have to pay Muni more money to have our backs thrown out by the jerking buses, be jostled, poked, sat on, almost pickpocketed, have our toes stepped on, and be treated rudely by some, thankfully not all, drivers. Great!

Terrie Frye San Francisco

The roofing story

Kudos to A.C. Thompson for reporting and the Bay Guardian for publishing the article "Blue-Collar Crime" (2/26/03) about the on-the-job fatality of Miguel Moncada Ortiz, a Mexican immigrant worker employed by 101 Roofing. This company pays immigrant day laborers $70 a day for dirty and dangerous work. There are numerous (Cal/OSHA) charges. Although it appears to violate prevailing wage statutes, the company continues to get city contracts. Does anyone see an ideological connection between a company like 101 Roofing getting lucrative city contracts and the Mayor's Office taking away funding for the Day Labor Program from La Raza Centro Legal because they are too militant in defending workers' rights?

Karl Kramer San Francisco

LGBT cops respond

We read with dismay your article entitled "Rebellion Against the Men's Club" (3/05/03). As an organization that represents the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered officers of the San Francisco Police Department, we would like to tell you that your article was full of untruths; you purported to represent the opinion of both women and LGBT officers. The fact that you make assumptions simply based on whether someone claps or not is ridiculous. Your article couldn't have been further from the truth. We stand together with all of the employee organizations in the SFPD. We prefer to subscribe to the belief of innocent until proven guilty. Your article attempts to pit groups of police officers against others; you will not now or ever succeed in any type of conquer and divide tactics.