Police caught on camera

When a cop does something unexpected or outrageous bystanders are sometimes compelled to capture pictures or video.

What you’re seeing here is a cop issuing a $110 ticket to a driver for double parking in the bike lane. And this isn’t just any cop. This is the Captain of Mission Station.

“I tagged two people today who I’ve warned before,” Captain Perea said.

Cyclists and pedestrians alike seemed confused by the rare sighting. But none more than this Uber driver (pictured above and below) who seemed to be just hanging out between fares. Note the big empty spot he could have pulled into to allow rush hour cyclists access to the bike lane.

“What we’re doing in this district is what all stations are doing across the city. We call it Focus on the Five. Every district will identify the causes of the most collisions.”

Focus on the Five is one of the tools the SFPD is using to support Vision Zero – the city’s goal to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2024. It includes both enforcement and education.

“[Focus on the Five] Is not about tickets, but enforcement is one way we can track data to see how we’re doing.“ Captain Perea continued, “We’re just trying to keep people safe. And this is what we got. So we work with what we’ve got.”

 

TryCaviar.com driver finds an awesome place to park and wait for his order earlier this month.

Before Capt. Perea headed out to write one more ticket, he said, “We have to make sure that the streets are safe for public travel. It’s public safety at its most basic.”

 

Meanwhile, in Palo Alto . . .

Police collision at 18th and Mission Streets

Barbara sends these in:

UPDATE: They may have been in pursuit of a common suspect. In 2002 I saw a cop car speeding up 18th Street so fast it made me jump to the side. Minutes later the car collided with a wall at 17th and Dolores, killing the officer.

More Mission Crime Over the Weekend

Holy shit!  Two headlines from SF Appeal today:

Mission Stabbing, Tenderloin Shooting Leave 2 Injured

Police Man Was Shot In Outer Mission During Attempted Carjacking

Oy.  Terrible.

Related: did everyone witness the overwhelming cop presence in Dolores Park this weekend?