Denis O'Leary

Hey Drunks, Here's How to Not Ring in The New Year in Jail

Christmas is over and New Year's is on its way, so now might be a good time for you to sober up and take a short hiatus from boozing 2012 away. Good health and sobriety is a decent reason to drink water instead of wine, but here's an even better reason: The cops will be watching you.

Cops to Crack Down on Doomsday Drunks Come Dec. 21

If you were planning to guzzle all your finest wine to mark your last day on Earth Dec. 21, best you don't drive that night -- just in case the world doesn't end. If you do get caught drinking and driving, then you can be sure you'll be celebrating your very own doomsday come December 22. Come Fr ... More >>

Sobriety Checkpoints in North Beach This Weekend

Cops will be on the prowl for drunk drivers again tonight as they finish the last leg of their 18-day DUI crackdown through Labor Day weekend.The police really hope that you don't go overboard with the booze to celebrate the long weekend, which Capt. Denis O'Leary ranks third most dangerous date for ... More >>

SFPD Cancels Scheduled Sobriety Checkpoints, Instead Will Focus on North Beach Drunks

San Francisco police will be out in force this weekend, just not in the places you were expecting to see them. Sgt. Michael Andraychak tells us that there's been a little change of plans for the 17-day crackdown on drunks on the roads. Instead of sobriety checkpoints on the south side of town, cops ... More >>

Cops to Roundup Local Drunks on the Roads

Starting Friday, you can expect to see cops, cops, and more cops on the roads for a planned 18-day crackdown on wasted drivers.Cops are really hoping you all stay sober through the end of the month -- or at least don't drive if you aren't. But just in case, there will be four sobriety checkpoints ov ... More >>

Hey Drunks, Here's Your Drinking and Driving Cheat Sheet for the Weekend

San Francisco police were so thrilled by how well their last sobriety checkpoint went that they have plans for another one this weekend. On Saturday at 8:30 p.m., cops will stage a DUI checkpoint on the corner of Ninth Avenue and Geary Boulevard, checking cars for wasted drivers through the wee ... More >>

Drinking and Driving Seemingly Less Popular This Fourth of July

It's not often you will hear a San Francisco police officer say, "You've done good." But the men (and women) in blue couldn't resist sending out this letter of thanks to the drivers of San Francisco, who remained more sober this year than last Independence Day. That's less paperwork for them, you kn ... More >>

Cops to Hunt Down Wasted Drivers This Weekend

While you might have big plans to be on the prowl at your local bar this weekend, cops will be doing a little prowling of their own.On Saturday, police will hold a DUI checkpoint at Lombard and Divisadero streets, scanning cars and talking to driver to make sure they aren't hammered or stoned. And y ... More >>

San Franciscans Finally Learn How to Drive "Stone-Cold Sober"

Turns out, all those public service announcements are finally starting to pay off. According to police, DUI arrests were down this year -- way down -- compared to last Memorial Day Weekend. Cops only arrested 27 suspected drunk drivers versus the 42 they hauled off to jail last year. Some back of a ... More >>

Memorial Day Weekend Brings Out More Drunks and More Cops

Just like every other holiday (except Thanksgiving, which is still perplexing to us), police will be out in force this Memorial Day weekend, cracking down on all you intoxicated drivers cruising around town. The hardcore enforcement starts at 12:01 a.m. Friday and carries on through Monday at midnig ... More >>

Cops on Harleys to Sneak Attack Drunk Drivers

If you think it will be easy to successfully avoid any DUI checkpoint in San Francisco this Cinco de Mayo, well, you are wrong. Police have informed us that on Friday, they will be deploying roving cops on motorcycles to go after drunk drivers on the road. Capt. Denis O'Leary explains the logic ... More >>

Chris Bucchere, Cyclist Accused of Killing Pedestrian, To Be Charged

Prosecutors are prepping to file charges against Chris Bucchere, the local cyclist who allegedly ran a red light in the Castro, hitting and killing 71-year-old Sutchi Hui as he walked along Market Street earlier this month. The Chron's Matier & Ross reports this morning that prosecutors claim t ... More >>

Cops Spring Clean the Roads of Drunk Drivers This Weekend

San Francisco police are giving all you boozers plenty of warning that they will be out in force this weekend, looking for drunk and drugged out drivers on the roads. Starting Saturday at 8 p.m., police will be stationed at the intersection of Geary Boulevard and Steiner Street, where they will scre ... More >>

Broken Heart Leads to Knife Fight in the Haight

At this point, it's no longer about love​We all know that broken hearts will make people do crazy things -- sometimes crazy enough to make it on the local police blotter. For example, police recently had to break up a knife fight in the Lower Haight after a woman and her two brawling men crossed p ... More >>

Fire Blazes in Western Addition: 3 Firefighters Injured, Buildings Partially Collapse

ABC 7 News ​(Update 4:20 p.m.) Media outlets are reporting that the fire is finally under control. Also, scratch the information below about heading to the Red Cross in the Western Addition later tonight to help victims. If you want to help, just go to the downtown San Francisco Red Cross at ... More >>

Lower Haight Neighbors Warn They're Armed

We all have our own ways of keeping potential burglars at bay: A home security system, a dog with a threatening bark, or even just a sign that warns of a vicious dog on the premises, despite the fact that no dog actually lives there. And then there's these neighbors in the Lower Haight, who aren't s ... More >>

Artist Insists He Can Deface "No Parking" Sign Because He's a Taxpayer

Erin SherbertI don't know about you, but the piece sure speaks to me​Art doesn't always have to look nice, it just has to move you. If that's the case, we'll argue that the photo on the right is art. Of course, the local police will have a much different take, as one San Francisco "artist" learned ... More >>

Ungrateful Son Tries to Strangle His Mother

Norman Bates: Taking the "norm" out of normal​There's so many good reasons why a grown man should not still be living with his mother. Let's just say it doesn't bode well for his relationship with women.Here's a great example:A 23-year-old mama's boy was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of a ... More >>

Why Parking Spots Make Great Beds for the Homeless

L​ast week we regaled readers with stories of residents converting highly coveted parking spots into parks, offices, and even nudist camps. Perhaps that's where Bennett Austin, a local advertising student, got the idea to turn metered spots in the Haight District into beds for the homeless. All we ... More >>

Man Robbed During One-Night Stand

​There are so many reasons a one-night stand is risky. You never know what afflictions (or infections) they might leave behind. And in some cases, you never know what they might take with them. Sadly, one San Francisco man's night on the town turned criminal when the guy he brought home was lookin ... More >>

Annoyed Neighbor Is Beaten While Photographing Bar Patrons Puking

This makes me want to throw up​A NOPA woman who was sickened -- literally -- by the stream of unruly bar patrons puking near her doorstep decided to make it into an exhibit. According to police, the 50-year-old woman -- who had been complaining about noise coming from the nearby bars along Fulton ... More >>

Bike Bandit Strikes Again

Just a note from a loving victim ​Earlier this week, we warned readers about the rash of bike thefts happening in the Inner Sunset. The thief appears to have migrated to Cole Valley, where there have been increased reports of a cycle crook.Police Captain Denis O'Leary told SF Weekly that the thief ... More >>

Serial Bike Burglars Hit Inner Sunset

And his bike was still stolen​Police are warning residents to lock up their bikes -- even inside their garages. A serial bike burglar is on the loose, having  taken a plethora of bicycles from Inner Sunset garages in six different incidents over the last few weeks.Police Captain Denis O'Leary ... More >>

Mean Auntie Beats Niece with Pink Baseball Bat

Kansas ... where aunts are much nicer to their nieces ​Loreal Brown is no Auntie Em. The San Francisco aunt was arrested this week after she allegedly chased down her 18-year-old niece and hit her with a pink baseball bat. The victim and her mother -- Brown's sister -- are giving police conflictin ... More >>

Men Beat Tourist While Calling Him "Faggot"

Castro attack ​Police are looking for a group of men who took a bat and beat a Santa Barbara tourist near San Francisco's Castro District over the weekend. According to Police Captain Denis O'Leary, the 52-year-old man, whose sexual orientation is unknown, was walking at Market and Sanchez streets ... More >>

Ballsy Woman Chases Down Man Who Tries to Steal Her Bike

Some people would do anything to get their bike back​A 21-year-old woman recently proved that she is no victim. The San Francisco resident was unlocking the front door of her apartment on the unit block of Walter Street at about 2:30 a.m. when a white man wearing dark clothing walked up behind her ... More >>

Jose Jiminez Accused of Killing Pedestrian On Masonic Avenue; Will the Street Ever be Safe?

KGO depiction of hit and run scene friday morning​An alleged drunk driver killed a pedestrian on Masonic Avenue early Friday morning -- a week before the city held its scheduled hearing to talk about how to make the highly-traveled street safer for cyclists and pedestrians. The residential thoroug ... More >>

S.F. Cabbie Bitch-Slaps Woman in NOPA

This is a real bitch slap ​We've reported on the dangers of being a cab driver -- you never know which drunk or crazy fare will hop into your taxi. But there's also a great deal of uncertainty as a passenger, as one San Francisco woman recently discovered. She called for a cab after a night of boo ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

Avoiding Auto Versus Pedestrian Crashes Could Save Taxpayers Cash

You Can't Cry Your Way Out of a Speeding Ticket Anymore

You've got it all wrong, officer.​Cops hate to cite speeding drivers almost as much as speeding drivers hate getting tickets. Police are sick and tired of the whining and crying and worse -- the verbal abuse they get when pulling drivers over. Perhaps that might influence them to look the other wa ... More >>

Obama Volunteer Kicked While Distributing Campaign Literature in NoPa

Is S.F. more republican than we thought?​You would think that if volunteers with Lyndon LaRouche could safely post signs of President Barack Obama with a Hitler mustache in downtown San Francisco, then you'd assume that anyone in the city's more liberal Hayes Valley NoPa neighborhood could get awa ... More >>

Woman Eats Pot Brownie Then Jumps Off Inner Sunset Balcony

Coming down hard -- literally -- after a bad high ​Here's a new anti-drug advertisement.A woman in the living in the Inner Sunset thought it was a good idea to devour some pot brownies and then thought it was an even better idea to jump off her balcony.The fun all started at about 7 p.m. when the ... More >>

SF Man Dumps His Feces on SFPD Patrol Car

The crap police deal with​And some thought Public Defender Jeff Adachi has been crapping on San Francisco cops lately.A well-known inebriate in the Upper Haight showed SFPD just how he felt about cops by dumping (no pun intended) his feces on a parked patrol car last week. At about 5 p.m. on Thurs ... More >>

Royal Cab Driver Gets Punched Over Fare

Dangerous jobs​Being a city cab driver is as dangerous as being a cop -- maybe even more so, assuming your cab driver is unarmed.One San Francisco cabbie recently learned just how troubling the job can be when he was the target in a drunken assault. At about 8:15 p.m. on Sunday, a Royal taxi drive ... More >>

Haight Street Drunks Are Getting Drunker

No more room for drunksThere is a new social problem that's plaguing the Haight and -- believe it or not -- it's far worse than sitting or lying on city sidewalks.Police are reporting a more-than-usual amount of drunks roving the Haight District. And it's not just that there are more inebriates, it' ... More >>

Gizmo, Chihuahua at the Center of Haight Street Shooting, Killed by Car

R.I.P.​It was just two weeks ago that Gizmo, a tan Chihuahua wearing a pink sweater, made headlines when his owner was shot while defending his small pooch. While both man and dog survived the shooting, Gizmo's life was tragically cut short last week when he was hit by a car. Police Capt. Denis O' ... More >>

S.F. Man Assaults Motorist Trying to Back into His Parking Spot in Upper Haight

Parking wars​Everyone who has visited San Francisco for a few hours on the weekend knows that trying to find parking is as irritating as trying to navigate the aisles at Trader Joe's. But how far would you go to get a space on a Saturday afternoon? Wait, don't answer that. For one San Francisco ma ... More >>

'Drunk as a Skunk' Driver Plays Bumper Cars

Throw a blanket on them​There is driving drunk and then there is driving really drunk. A Haight woman's night of good fun turned into a night in jail after she got wasted and tried to drive home, hitting six cars in less than a block.The intoxicated woman was driving a convertible along Corbett Av ... More >>