In this week's SFPD Central Station newsletter, Capt. David Lazar recaps the 68th annual Cameron House Carnival, where he participated in the dunk tank, along with Supervisor Aaron Peskin. The Chinatown foot beat patrol officers and the Ping Yuen Housing Team all lined up to take shots at the captain, landing him in the water.
Capt. Lazar also mentioned that this week marks his 24th year of service with the SFPD, since graduating the Police Academy and beginning his field training at Central Station. While he served the Tenderloin Station for much of his career, he said he has always wanted to be back at Central. Happy anniversary, Capt. Lazar!
This week's newsletter is chock full of information, such as recent crime in Russian Hill, frequent crime trends, and ways to avoid becoming a victim, so make sure you take the time to read the full newsletter.
Now, for the SFPD crime recaps for the week.
Suspect arrested in shots fired at Coit Tower
In last week's crime roundup, we reported on mysterious shots fired at Coit Tower at 3:48am May 1st. Capt. Lazar wrote in this week's newsletter that a suspect has been arrested, thanks to the work of Sergeant Kevin Murray and Lieutenant Valerie Matthews of the Station Investigations Team.
"The suspect in this case was apprehended at his home in the Bayview District," Capt. Lazar wrote. "As a result of a search warrant, we recovered four firearms and a rifle! Great work keeping our community safe."
Man nabbed for starting fire in park
On May 7th at 2:30pm, a 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of starting a fire on top of a tree stump in Ina Coolbrith Park in Russian Hill.
Argument leads to altercation
On the 300 block of Bay Street in Fisherman's Wharf, two men were arguing at 2:40am May 8th. The men were walking away from each other when one, age 20, returned and punched the other, 23, in the face. He was knocked to the ground unconscious, and suffered a cut. The victim was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Man's backpack stolen after punch to the face
Two men were drinking together on May 8th when one, 20, unexpectedly punched the other, 29, in the face at 1am. The incident occurred on May 8th at Petrarch Alley and Pine Street in the FiDi. The victim lost consciousness, and when he woke, he learned that his backpack had been stolen. The SF Fire Department found him bleeding from the face, and he was transferred to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, including a cut on his face.
Robber pulls knife, makes off with makeup bag
A 28-year-old man was promoting his makeup bag at Beach and Hyde streets in Fisherman's Wharf at 4:40pm May 11th when a male teen, 17, approached the victim to check out the bag. The suspect began to walk away the with the item, and the victim attempted to stop him. The suspect pulled out a pocket knife, and out of fear for his safety, the victim allowed the suspect to flee on foot. The suspect was later taken into custody.
Driver intentionally hits cyclist
As we reported on Friday, a driver intentionally hit a cyclist near Market and Fourth streets in Union Square during afternoon rush hour on May 12th. Taj'zanae Zakira Thomas, 18, of Oakland, was booked on assault with a deadly weapon in the collision.
Witnesses were overheard saying Thomas tried to flee the scene, and the Examiner reported a Good Samaritan foiled the attempt by taking her keys. An officer on the scene told us the cyclist's injuries weren't life-threatening, but SFPD didn't have an update on his or her condition as of Friday.
