Bullet Proof Vests Make the Mission Safe For Journalists

Immune to teh bullets

Yesterday, Mission Loc@l published a photo of Chronicle crime reporter Jaxon Van Derbeken wearing a bullet proof vest while on an embed assignment with SFPD:

Yeah, we know the Mission is one of the more trigger-happy neighborhoods in the city, but we didn’t think the cops considered it Baghdad dangerous. But apparently the police made Chron crime reporter Jaxon Van Derbeken don a bullet-proof vest while embedding with an officer on the Mission streets yesterday, as caught on the neighborhood news Web site, Mission Loc@l. (link)

According to Van Derbeken, “the police provided [the vest] and required I wear it.”  My question: can you keep it as a souvenir afterwards?  That would be hot–sign me up for an embed.

(photo / Mission Loc@lReporting / The Snitch)

7 Responses to “Bullet Proof Vests Make the Mission Safe For Journalists”

  1. Wow! That’s ridiculous. Can I have one too?

  2. Stucco Sux says:

    Top 10 suggested more productive things to don while hanging out in the Mission (and btw, Mission Mission, you people are rocking lately with the sheer volume of excellent stuff — seriously):

    1) Doggy Bags. However you choose to define “doggy bags,” and to whichever potential use you choose to put them to.
    2) Cash. Because the Mission is still tricky for ATM accessing.
    3) An appetite. Good god the food options here are mushrooming like urban twitter legends.
    4) A cell phone. Because without one in this neighborhood you just wouldn’t fit in.
    5) Douche bag long, pointed toed shoes. Because otherwise your toe might get smashed by: a rude bike nazi; a rude car nazi; a rude homeless stolen Safeway shopping cart nazi.
    6) A limitless appetite for caffeinated beverages.
    7) A limitless appetite for alcoholic beverages.
    8) $100,000 down for a pad that will be worth a lot in 10 years. Trust me. I have lived here through every kind of downturn, and this one is the most opportunity laden of all.
    9) Someone you love to take it all in with.
    10) A dog that loves you both, to take it all in with the two of you. And friends.

    PS: If 10) is a “yes,” please remember the doggy bags.

  3. dana says:

    k 1st they have this kind of inverse-koolio-bulletproof-cup thing, I didn’t know that. before.

    2nd it’s illegal to wear a bullet-proof vest in SF so the only way you get into one is not buying it, it’s having the police order you to wear it.

    and 3rd, if the police believe they can’t protect you, while you’re freaking with them, what do they figure they can do for any of us?

  4. kejackson says:

    “if the police believe they can’t protect you, while you’re freaking with them, what do they figure they can do for any of us?” -Van Derbeken should quote you in his report =]

  5. el californio says:

    bullet proof vest are required of anyone who does a walk or ride along with the SFPD. I did a ride along earlier this year and I had to wear a one. It has nothing to do with the neighborhood or time of day. It is just something that everyone who rides/walks along with the sfpd has to do.

    • zinzin says:

      you mean it’s not some conspiracy to take rights away from people? or an affront to workers? are you sure?

  6. Bone says:

    how good is that. think about if every billionaire stick to their career will they really be billionaire. will the lottery be your career. people love to be in a safe zone that their ambition is depleted. so many people are looking for answers i myself used oracle and tarot cards for many years in order to get answers and direction, so i knew that it was possible to create powerful self guidance tools for seekers. residency consulting companies come in a variety of forms. consultant of average wage or salary in chicago taxes was $149 beginning with 2011, 445 manhattan and half salary $ 159, 129 in the same period an average of $114, 891, indianapolis. with many insurance companies limiting the number of overnight stays they will pay for, both procedurally and as a cumulative annual total per policyholder, as well as increased desire from seniors to stay independent in their later years, the shift in patient care has been dramatic.