Fentanyl crisis: San Francisco outlines city-state partnership to combat trafficking
SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco and California officials spoke of their plans to fight the deadly fentanyl scourge in the city during a press conference at City Hall Friday.
Mayor London Breed, Police Chief Bill Scott and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins were joined by officials from the California Highway Patrol and California National Guard to provide details on the new state public safety partnership announced last week by Governor Gavin Newsom targeting fentanyl trafficking operations and drug rings in the city.
"We are doing everything we can. We are making the arrest, we are bringing charges, we are being as aggressive as much as we possibly can to hold people accountable," said Breed. "It does take a village, it does take a partnership and now that partnership is expanding on a statewide level. "
The Highway Patrol and National Guard will join the San Francisco Police Department and the district attorney's office to focus on dismantling fentanyl trafficking and disrupting the supply of the drug by targeting operators of large-scale drug trafficking operations.
In a statement Friday, Newsom said the CHP will allocate a new team of officers to work with San Francisco police on drug trafficking enforcement in the city's Tenderloin District and other areas of the city. Other CHP units will also provide "supplemental patrol in key areas of the city," according to the governor.
Scott gave a little geography lesson to underscore the concentration and intensity of the crisis.
"The epicenter of the crisis is a very small area," he told reporters. "The Tenderloin is about a square mile. San Francisco police officers have made 269 arrests in a very small area in the course of four months."
"When you think about that in your own community, think about a 10-block radius from where you live and think about 269 drug dealers dealing poison on the streets being taken from your community. That is what the people who live and work in the Tenderloin have to deal with day in and day out. And that has to stop."
"When the governor came to San Francisco with the attorney general, Rob Bonta, and they did a walk in the Tenderloin, they heard the pleas and the cries of the community asking for help, asking for something different," said Breed. "Well this is something different. "
CHP Commissioner Commissioner Sean Duryee said Friday the agency will deploy officers starting on May 1 to work alongside San Francisco police officers in high-crime areas.
Duryee added that the officers assigned from his department all have a particular interest in helping the city fight the fentanyl crisis.
"The officers that volunteered to come in and work alongside SFPD officers all volunteered for it," said Duryee. "They're all from San Francisco. They love the community, they wanted to there and serve the community. And so I think that's an important aspect from our viewpoint."
In 2021, Breed declared a local state of emergency in San Francisco's Tenderloin District allowing the city officials to waive certain laws to quickly address the rising tide of deadly fentanyl overdoses.
"it's time for us to write our own narrative about what San Francisco is because we live it and breathe it every single day," said Breed Friday. "There will and there must be accountability."
California National Guard Major Gen. Matt Beevers said the guard's role would not involve troops patrolling the city.
"The support we are going to provide really consists of really talented and dedicated soldiers and airmen that do essentially criminal analysis work, said Beevers. "That's taking a look at all the information that gets generated by law enforcement agencies. Taking that information, synthesizing into actionable information."
Similar California National Guard operations in the San Diego area has led to the seizure of $50 million in drugs in just the last month.
The San Francisco District Attorney's Office said between July 8, 2022 and April 20, 2023, the office filed 638 felony narcotics sales cases compared to 360 for the same time period by the previous administration.
Pre-trial detention has been sought in the most egregious cases because of the extreme public safety risk posed by those alleged drug dealers, the office said. The court granted seven motions to detain and denied nine. In six instances, the court-imposed bail.
The DA's office also said there are nearly 500 people with open bench warrants who failed to appear for drug sales cases who were released by the court - 136 of these individuals in bench warrant status have more than one open case.
The press conference was held just hours after Jenkins announced multiple felony charges against a suspected fentanyl dealer arrested in San Francisco earlier this week.
Following the arrest of David Diaz-Morazan, police and agents of the US Drug Enforcement Agency served a search warrant at a residence in Oakland that resulted in the seizure of just over 11 pounds of fentanyl, as well as 95.8 grams of methamphetamine, a hydraulic press, packaging materials and heavy-duty respirators.
Tenderloin District resident Hamzh Mihtar started working at a convenience store a few months ago but he has lived in the Tenderloin most of his life. He is aware of the plan set to begin on Monday involving CHP officers and the California National Guard.
"I was excited and hoping that it would really happen and be visible to everyone else," he said. "Just make it easier for families and everyone else to really just go by with their day."
He's not sure if the plan will work but as someone who has lived in the area since he was nine years old, he is optimistic that the situation can get better. While he says much hasn't changed in that time, he has noticed more residents out on the streets in recent years.
"If my sister were to go outside, I would feel better for her to go outside," he said about a police presence increasing in this part of the city and making more people feel safe. "I just hope for change and for the Tenderloin to be like every other neighborhood."
