Somehow, in that sad, twisted and demented city, this is both surprising and a failing of the San Francisco Police Department.

The San Francisco Standard did a deep dive into police “use of force” numbers, and came up with that figure. Just by the videos and news reports I’ve seen of the street scene in SF – filled with drug addicts and mentally unbalanced individuals running amok (ask Paul Pelosi) – I was surprised it was only 30%.

Aggressive homeless guy in San Francisco #sanfrancisco #homeless #crime pic.twitter.com/KqI6DQA15g

— UpToDate (@UpToDateNewsSvc) August 15, 2023

But to the Standard, it’s a scandal, blatant police brutality incarnate, and a chance to whip up some royal outrageous Progressive outrage.

They open with what I’m assuming is the typical victim’s tale: fellow (I’m sure the fact he’s supposedly a veteran is no accident), broke into a restaurant by busting through a window, “stole six cookies,” officers chased him out of the place, and into the Embarcadero. He sat on the grass “in a panic,” “raised his bloody hands,” and then? Resisted arrest.

Well, hello.

…Southwick refused officers’ orders to get on his stomach and instead stood up and backed away, the footage shows. He screamed as officers shot him with a foam round, punched him and wrestled him into handcuffs while telling him to stop resisting.

Anyone remember what Chris Rock said about what happens if the cops have to chase you?
(NSFW language)

I mean, that’s a truism whatever your status.

The Standard also has a broad definition of force – about the only thing missing was harsh language. They do handsomely concede, however, that because SFPD doesn’t track every homeless encounter they have, it might skew the numbers some.

Ya think?

BUT STILL…the inference is the cops are out there brutalizing these wayward and harmless unfortunates.

…Use-of-force incidents can include officers spraying a person with a chemical agent, striking them with a fist, placing them in a physical control hold, pointing a firearm at them and, in rare cases, shooting them with a gun. Police injured homeless people in about a third of the use-of-force incidents involving them, the data shows.

…The analysis reveals that San Francisco police disproportionately used force against homeless people based on their relatively small share of the city’s population. But, because SFPD does not track how often its officers encounter homeless people unless the interaction results in an officer using force, it’s unclear whether police contacts with homeless people were more likely to result in force than contacts with non-homeless people.

However, 34% of the nearly 77,000 bookings into San Francisco jails from January 2017 to April 2022 were homeless people, according to Sheriff’s Department data. That means homeless people constituted a slightly larger share of people booked than use-of-force subjects during that period, and are heavily overrepresented in the jail population.

My goodness. The first fellow was a victim of life already – SFPD didn’t have to make it worse over cookies – and aggravating his existing PTSD makes an appearance for good measure. Over cookies.

…“I was clearly unarmed, and they had no right to shoot me and assault me and beat me like that,” Southwick said. “Even if I did break a window and take a few cookies.”

And then the Standard went for the emotional, anti-cop gut punch. Police are “inherently” violent – it’s all they know. God help those poor defenseless creatures of misfortune dotting our sidewalks.

…“Police inherently use violence to gain compliance,” Cox said. “When you are talking about some of the most vulnerable members of the community, some of whom are experiencing mental health issues, that’s a recipe for violence.

“I refuse to think that the choice is between doing nothing or having police show up, and the only tool they know how to use is violence,” Cox added.

And, of course, the cops always go for the scruffy, smelly, tattered guy in dreds. They never arrest businessmen.

…Eric Tars, senior policy director with the National Homeless Law Center, said suspicious persons and trespassing calls often target homeless people and are open to bias.

“Who’s going to appear suspicious?” Tars said. “Not a person in a nicely tailored suit walking down the street.”

HOLY SMOKES what a hit job. Why would anyone be a cop in that city and subject themselves to that abuse?

This time, the SFPD wasn’t sitting still for that attack. No, sir. They pointed to the obvious, in that no officer in pursuit checks a person’s domicile status before engaging.

“No good. Grungy discount broker – let ‘im go.”

They fired off a broadside of facts and figures that should have burned the Standard to the ground in shame.

“For homeless-related calls for service, @SFPD officers used force less than 3 times out of every 10,000 calls – specifically .024% of the time. This is data that was shared with the Standard, which they did not include in their report.” #Substandard https://t.co/PmBzylksWr

— The Marina Times ⛵️🗞️ (@TheMarinaTimes) August 24, 2023

Including the very salient point that the SFPD had made all these figures available to the Standard BEFORE publication…but guess what never got used?

Oh, little things like…

SFPD officers received 174,176 homeless-related calls from dispatchers between 2017 and 2022. Only 43 of those cases resulted in a use of force after the individual either assaulted or resisted police or committed another crime.

Nearly all 43 of those use-of-force cases involved officers using a physical control hold. In one case an officer used OC spray.

The statistics are unequivocal: For homeless-related calls for service, SFPD officers used force less than 3 times out of every 10,000 calls – specifically .024% of the time.

This is data that was shared with the Standard, which they did not include in their report.

Ouch.

There’s more about those poor souls, the blameless cookie monster victims, and how and why police wind up interacting with them to begin with. They don’t pick a random scruff-monkey on the corner. It’s called “911” and those who wind up manhandled are almost inevitably caught in the act, or leaving the scene of:

When force was used against unsheltered residents, the cases were initially called into 911 dispatchers as:

• Burglary (#1 most common call for service)
• Vehicle theft (#2)
• Suspicious person (#3)
• Trespasser (#4)
• Person with a gun (#5)
• Assault with a deadly weapon (#6)
• Auto Boost (#7)
• Assault and battery (#8)
• Person with a knife (#9)
• Vandalism (#10)
• Warrant arrest (#11)
• Robbery (#12)
• Homicide (#13)

What a benign little list, no? I don’t see cookies anywhere on it. One’s adrenaline is probably elevated answering a call for, oh, “person with a gun” or “assault and battery,” so when there’s a suspected perp within nabbing distance, and that same individual runs/struggles/attacks, well, it’s gonna be a throw-down.

But homeless people are the real victims of the violence inherent in the police and the system.

https://t.co/8K6Z84z236 click the link to see what happens when this mentally ill man who’s high on meth harasses a group of pedestrians ! #viral #Trending #Mentalhealth #Awareness #SanFrancisco #Homeless #America #crime #news #cleanitup #Democrats #Republicans #DoYourJob #NA pic.twitter.com/ShptsSJbwm

— Ricci Wynne (@RawRicci415) July 15, 2022

Honestly.

SFPOA President discusses the SFPD staffing crisis, the City’s request for support from the US Atty's office, and the need for city government to pull together to address San Francisco’s homeless, overdose, and crime crises. Click below for full interview,https://t.co/UTDPYVZXhb pic.twitter.com/m8UYgvYJtE

— San Francisco POA (@SanFranciscoPOA) April 4, 2023

Why would anyone be a cop in that hell hole?

And gosh. Why does everyone hate the media?