Two years ago some of us in the Southeast Area of the City and County of San Francisco met to address the crime situation in the City with a particular emphasis on the Bayview Hunters Point.
Numerous weekly meetings were held and most everyone involved with police work and especially crime abatement were invited to the table. Over 25 City and other agencies participated. Supervisors Jake McGoldrick, then Supervisor Mark Leno and Sophie Maxwell attended the Crime Conference. Sophie as chided at the Conference and rightly so for doing nothing for the constituents she should serve. I have qualified experience with police incident reports and have traveled extensively and been interested in key factors involving crime, violence and that particular aspect of human experience that brings about turmoil in our societies all over the world. As part of my work I love to work with youth. It so happens all over America that crime and youth work in the inner cities goes hand in hand. This could not be truer in San Francisco and especially those youth of color that live in the Southeast Sector of San Francisco. For the last 25 years I have been watching crime increase in District 10. The present Supervisor is Sophie Maxwell. I can best describe her as inept, ignorant and arrogant. As long as she is in power and has anything to do with District 10 we will not see any drastic change in the Crime pattern. The woman simply does not have the understanding or the fortitude to be a good leader. 10 murders in a week is something that has to stop. Our children have to live not die. The most corrupt Black Mayor ever to set foot in City Hall, Willie L. Brown Jr. played a role behind the scene to prop Sophie who has NO knowledge what so ever how to deal with crime on any level. She simply does not have the ability to discern. She surrounds herself with cronies like Karen Pierce and Olin Webb who are on the take. During her term of office crime and killings have grown by leaps and bounds. She simply does not have the guts to work with City and Law Enforcement to bring change with a vision that goes hand in hand with concrete experience. She is a more AC/DC person, which can mean anything. Sophie Maxwell cannot attain any goals because she is NO leader. She is a lousy follower who should step down. I have watched many so-called Police Chiefs try their best to address crime in the Southeast with partial and half-baked plans that are destined to fail. They have been able to do this because Sophie Maxwell does not have a plan nor interest that she can encourage the Chiefs to implement. Her aides are not experienced in Crime issues and are at the mercy of a Supervisor who is well known for her tantrums. Her aides are at her very mercy. Soon one of them will leave her office and she will then reintroduce her old aide Greg Assay. The gimmicks of old will be in play and District 10 will suffer all the way. About two years ago some former gang members and some Church Ministers most of whom have NO respect in the San Francisco community signed a pact. A non-Christian denomination played an important part in this so-called Peace Treaty which is really hogwash. Behind this PACT was Willie L. Brown Jr. and those of us who followed this nonsense process know that it is touted as something but in reality it is a FARCE. The real gang leaders both behind the WALL and those in the HOOD will tell you this FAKE TRUCE means nothing to them. This fact was stated again and again to all of us by current former gang members who want to bring about a real change at the Crime Conference. I can name some of them just in case some readers think I do not know what I am talking about. I have had long deep discussion with Herm Lewis - he has reformed himself has a very good job and is a producer of many songs. He is a real community leader and makes time to coach the youth. Then there is Wills Winnfield, Demetrius Williams, and Terrell Rogers. We also learned a lot from Charles Moore who was a gang leader and now advocate for many, many years at City College. We heard real people who work and do good work all over the City and County of San Francisco. The likes of Ishmael Burch, Lonnie Holmes, Ranon Ross, Barbara Lynn, Reuben Smith, Jim Williams, Con Johnson, Armando Cervantes, Tony Anderson, Daro Inouye, and many more. Real people doing real good work. I did not see any of these individuals nor people of their caliber at the Special Meeting called by Sophie Maxwell before the Board of Supervisors. She simply does not understand the problem. Again and again during and after the Crime Conference, which was held at the Bayview Opera House, we heard from former gang leaders who had served their terms and were now free - about the real problems. They will not confide to those who talk down to them like our present District Attorney. They will listen to the Public Defender Jeff Adachi. The theme of the Crime Conference was Peace in the Streets. It Requires Mutual Responsibility. It demands mutual respect. In all the organizers met over 40 times and spent many hundreds of person hours before the conference and continued to meet one a week for months after the conference. We continue to attend the Free Gang Initiative Meetings to this day. The good we gather we share and work at ground zero to bring about change. We walk the walk and do little of talking unlike those at City Hall at the Special Meeting who were trying to impress the audience. The audience was sick of them and expressed their sentiments for every one to see and hear. Sophie should replay the tape again and again. The following year we did not have a conference in the Bayview Hunters Point. We really did not have it because certain crooks behind the scene most City Officials and the corrupt Mayor Willie Brown (who did not attend) our Conference saw we were a force to be reckoned with. We spent money from our own pocket to hold the conference with some little help from some agencies - the most help we got from the Housing Authority. Mark Leno donated a large banner. These crooks did not want us to shed light on the real issues and the real crooks that fostered the crime. Fore most among them Willie L. Brown Jr. We found out exactly what was happening regarding crime. It came as a shock to us that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the San Francisco Police Department, the Health Department, the Sheriff, other key agencies knew the real facts but continued to allow Black on Black killings. Most people at the conference did not know I had qualified Law Enforcement training and specialized in data collection and Police Incident Reports. I could hear, take notes, and evaluate the comments. I was really shocked. The killings in the Bayview Hunters Point, Visitation Valley and Potrero Hill are mostly Black on Black killings. The sad part is that often times when people gather at the wake of the victim - they find out that blood cousins killed blood cousins. Relatives kill one another, friends kill friends, Black on Black violence over turf, drugs, women, she-thugs, guns must stop. Law Enforcement is aware of all the illegal traffic but they are not doing anything about it. The talk the talk but they cannot walk the walk. I know many single mothers who try their best to rear their daughters and sons. They weep every day of their life because our City officials have NOT done their job. Our City officials have fostered a myth that the Bayview Hunters Point in full of crime and killings are rampant. This is not true it is FALSE. Bayview Hunters Point residents were responsible for building the new wing of the General Hospital. I tell you no one knows about this fact. Bayview Hunters point residents were instrumental in creating the Human Rights Commission, which is now NOT doing its job - no one knows about this. Bayview is the only district that has a Southeast Commission no one knows about this. The Southeast Commission Facility is an over $15 million facility mostly built with Federal money - no ones knows about this. Bayview Hunters point residents went to Washington DC and brought back over a million dollars to build housing for the poor. Congressman Phillip Burton was there to receive them and deliver. We have the likes of Mrs. Westbrook, Shirley Jones, Espanola Jackson they are alive and no one consults them. They will not deal with crooks the likes that called the Special Meeting on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 at City Hall. Others like Alex Pitcher, Frank Jordon, Aunt Bea have left us but they left their mark. I am not here to name names but to make a point. Bayview Hunters Point before and today has good leaders but the crooks will not deal with them. We have real crooks heading City Departments who must go. We do not have good leaders but those who are destroying our community. They must be brought before the Law and booked. The fact is that Black on Black violence has been allowed to free flow because certain corrupt elements want Blacks to be eliminated and forced out of Bayview Hunters Point, Visitation Valley and Potrero Hill. I have spoken to Law Enforcement on the highest level and that is what I keep hearing again and again. I try to attend the Gang Free Initiative Meetings every month. City officials, police, and other Community Based Organizations meet to discuss facts and what is really happening all over our City. The picture is pathetic. We see most of the crime in the Mission, Bayview Hunters Point, Visitation Valley and Potrero Hill. For some time police used deadly force killing innocent people. One does not need to pump numerous bullets to bring down a person. In fact most of those who were killed including one Physically Challenged person could all have been subdued using mace or some less deadly force. I had to go before the Police Commission and plead with the Commissioners to force higher Police Officials to force the SFPD to use less force and to be humane. I was instrumental in fighting for the youth that were beat up on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. I brought about change and got to know very well the present acting Chief Heather Fong and Deputy Gregory Suhr among others. It took months to help the victims with psychological help. I persisted and they did get help - thanks to the present Deputy Chief of Staff to the Mayor Gavin Newsom - Mr. Alex Trouk. For over a year we did not have a District 10 Liaison. Now we have one Mr. Joseph Flood. I had to fight to get him the job. Ron Vinson the former head of Neighborhood Services helped Joseph. Our Sophie Maxwell did nothing. Imagine NOT having a Neighborhood Liaison for over a year. Sophie is about herself and not about the community. She is best a House Negro who likes to divide the house as with House Negroes and Field Negroes. Forces in high places have allowed Black on Black violence to foster. It is wrong and no one feels for those who need help most. Any type of gun is for sale in the crime-laden areas. Any amount of drugs is available in the crime-laden areas. This is a shame. We cannot just make statements to the General Public that anyone found with an illegal weapon will be punished in the most stringent manner as was made by Kamala Harris at the Public Meeting at the Board of Supervisors meeting. Try going to the crime infested areas and find an illegal weapon, which are used by thugs and killers not innocent people. I challenge the DA to do this. I challenge her to go to Middle Point or to Double Rock and do her thing. One does not preach to hard working innocent constituents when it comes to killers who defy law and live minute to minute with nothing to lose. In fact killers take pride in breaking the law. Just like those in high places who are supposed to preserve the law - talk the talk but cannot walk the walk. Always on the take. Innocent people have to live with murder, killings, robberies, open drug sale daily. The Supervisor of District 10 and the naive DA does not have to live with this reality. You cannot change society by talking down to them. That is what is happening in the Bayview Hunters Point especially with stupid leaders who cannot discern. Everyone is talking down to the youth. The youth do not like that and the more you intimidate them the more the killings will go on. Recently we had over 15 judges who were invited to the Bayview Hunters Point community. There were only four residents who showed up Espanola Jackson, Dr. Churchwell, Francisco Da Costa, and Andrew Bozeman. There was no Sophie Maxwell and she had invited them and was a big NO SHOW. Very little publicity about this very important meeting. The meeting was held at the Southeast Facility Commission Building --1800 Oakdale. Where were you Sophie Maxwell? Where were you DA? Anyone who always comes up with excuses is not worth his or her salt. We do not have on single Law Enforcement person in the ranks who clearly understands the neighborhood and the killings. They try but most of them are not with the people - they try to cover the asses of their fellow law enforcement officials who have made grave mistakes before. We have had instances where young men have served more then 14 years in jail for no crime at all. They were innocent and framed by Law Enforcement. We now have some City officials in high places that never ever lived in San Francisco trying to compare San Francisco with some other area. The world knows that their past is tainted especially when one has had cozy affairs with the most corrupt Mayor that ever set foot in City Hall. They now live in San Francisco not so much to serve the people but to make money. This is a shame. We should not allow suckers to hold high places unless they live in the City for over 10 years continuously. If one is tainted and the Public knows about it - forget about making changes. In the hood she is called a whore. That is the talk in the hood among the gang bangers who read the newspapers and they are in the know. We have White journalists from the Chronicle, Examiner, and the Independent trying to churn out some news without investigative reporting about Crime. It is a joke what dumb, stupid journalists report about Black on Black killings in the Bayview Hunters, Visitation Valley, the Mission, Potrero Hill, all over the City. It is the journalists who have not done their duty. First and foremost they should write about how the District Attorney office has and is performing. What real plans are in place to help the community? If anyone has the guts to create Peace Zones and have LE personnel to police these area. Real Peace zones where anyone can go and be in safe hands. Some investigative report should be done about the DA and murder cases. See how many have fallen through the cracks. Study the methodology of the present DA and what position paper she has in hand. It is very easy to talk the talk very hard to walk the walk. There is only one person who comes close to feeling and understanding the folks who live in the crime-laden areas. His name is Jeff Adachi. Jeff Adachi the Public Defender who the former Mayor did not want to be in office - really know the true picture and tries his best. He is Japanese, a good American and well respected by the Blacks in the Bayview Hunters Point area, Visitation Valley, Mission, and all over the City. Our San Francisco Police Department has had so many changes. The Police Chiefs keep changing like Russian Roulette. First there was Lau, then Sanders, then Fong, then Fagan, now Fong and God alone knows who will be next. The novice Mayor Gavin Newsom thinks if he infuses women as heads he will make news and divert the attention from the real issues. We have a woman acting Chief, the Chief of the Fire Department is a woman, the Coroner is woman, the head of the SF Unified School District is a woman, our District Attorney is a woman, he appointed a woman as Supervisor. It is time he resigns and a woman takes over the Mayorship. Gimmicks, how ever and whichever way you play them do not factor in solving problems and crime. You can bluff some of the people most of the time but not all of the people all the time. This appointing of women to each and every important position stems from very poor judgment and utter lack of experience. The City and County of San Francisco will soon have an over $400 million deficit. Let us see how Mayor Gavin Newsom deals with that. Perhaps he can build a bordello and rake up some millions to cure the deficit. Thugs from Bayview Hunters Point including heads from many City Departments helped Gavin Newsom and the District Attorney gets elected. Right now the FBI is involved and so is the Secretary of State and the State Attorney. It is these thugs who have real connections with top City officials on every level are free and continue to commit crimes daily - what can we say? It becomes a mockery when a District Attorney says she will do this and that when she is part of the inherent mess. Imagine getting the backing of thugs and crooks to get elected. In the recent election City Officials, city employees, city vehicles, were all used to elect the Mayor of San Francisco and the District Attorney. This is a crime. That is what I know. The stupid journalists will not print that in detail and that is a crying shame. In the coming days crime will only get worse. The thugs who were and are protected will kill and kill to scare away those who want to stop them. They have dens deep within their areas and are fully equipped with state of art communication gadgets and well paid attorneys. Not long ago the thugs hired attorneys who argued that in one case the criminals who used machine guns had every constitutional right to use them. They won. Our court stink. Every day mostly Blacks are sent to jail without due process. Daily judges try to juggle between the victims Constitutional Rights and Statutory Rights. Rights that fall within the realm of Special Circumstances. Daily those who should get a fair treatment are sent to linger in jail. When they come out they come out worse then before. It is shame that we have over 9000 people on probation in the Southeast Area. Most of them have NO education they have no skills and they have a record. They rob, steal, and sell drugs to survive. It is to these victims that the District Attorney who is naive keeps preaching that she will come hard on them. We do not have facilities to rehab our Black sisters and brothers. We do not have a family, which can nurture them. Most families have single mothers who themselves need help. No food and poor health programs keep them down. The time has come for change. This is Black History Month. Perhaps some of you reading this article will realize that we should not talk the talk but rather walk the walk. Too many young black children have died. No one can put a price on his or her lives. The time has come to act with a vision and a plan that can work. God have mercy on our corrupt City Officials especially those that are inept, ignorant, and arrogant. |