George Gascon

Here Is How You Can Avoid Being a Victim of That Weird Ghost Scam

District Attorney George Gascon's office has convicted seven people for scamming elderly Chinese women out of their life savings, making San Francisco the first city in the country to prosecute defendants in the now-infamous ghost scams. Another case is plodding along through pretrial motions. Sti ... More >>

Reza Eslaminia: Billionaire Boys Club Cabbie Charged With Vehicular Manslaughter Now Missing

District Attorney George Gascon wanted to charge Reza Eslaminia with felony vehicular manslaughter for allegedly killing a pedestrian when his cab ran a stop light last year. Because of a flawed police investigation, though, Gascon will have to settle for a misdemeanor charge. But not even that wi ... More >>

James Rickleffs, Accused of Killing Eriq Escalon, To Be Charged With Murder and Burglary

James Rickleffs, 45, will be charged with one count of premeditated murder and one count of first degree residential robbery, District Attorney George Gascón announced today. Police this week arrested him on suspicion of gagging, murdering, and robbing local hairdresser Eriq Escalon, 28, whose dec ... More >>

District Attorney Says More Kids Are Going to Class

The District Attorney's Office might let teachers accused of abusing students off easy, but prosecutors aren't quite as forgiving with students who are chronically skipping school. District Attorney George Gascón has been working with the YMCA and SFUSD to keep make sure your kids actually goes to ... More >>

DA Determined to Stop Those Weird Ghost Scams Plaguing the Chinese Community

Those nefarious ghost scammers are apparently still spooking folks in San Francisco, enough so that police are planning community meetings to help get the word out. District Attorney George Gascón announced today that he has set up three meetings to talk about these still very active scammers, and ... More >>

Dulce Tattiana Reyes, UCSF Employee, Accused of Stealing From Transplant Patient Fund

A UCSF employee is expected to appear in court today to answer to charges of pilfering thousands of dollars out of the university's funds for organ transplant patients, officials said.District Attorney George Gascón said Dulce Tattiana Reyes worked as a Campus Finance Manager where she was responsi ... More >>

SFPD Bust Suspects in Weird Ghost Scam Targeting Asian Women

Police have finally nabbed the people who they say are responsible for scamming at least five Asian women of more than $100,000 worth of jewelry and cash over the last few months. San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr announced the arrests today at a press conference, saying that SFPD worked with the ... More >>

George Gascón Lauds Feds' Discrimination Suit Against Sheriff Joe Arpaio

The Department of Justice today took the unusual step of suing a sitting U.S. sheriff. Joe Arpaio, the infamous sheriff of Maricopa County, Ariz., is charged with years of systematically discriminating against Latinos and using the power of his office to retaliate against critics. This paragrap ... More >>

DA to Charge Brick-Tossing Protesters in Occupation of Church Building

District Attorney George Gascón is wasting no time building his case against the protesters who were arrested during Tuesday evening's occupation of the San Francisco Archdiocese building during the May Day strikes. Gascón fired off a statement last night, detailing his intention to charge five of ... More >>

DA George Gascón Pleased with Feds' Investigation of Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Joe Arpaio​In San Francisco, District Attorney George Gascón is known as an administratively competent political moderate who has a firmly established place in the ascendant "city family" headed by Mayor Ed Lee. During his tenure as chief of the Mesa Police Department in Arizona, Gascón was know ... More >>

City Attorney Says DNA Lab Memo Is Exempt from Public Records Act

Rockne Harmon co-authored a controversial internal memo on crime lab problems​We reported Tuesday that City Attorney Dennis Herrera's office, contrary to assertions made at a public debate last week by District Attorney George Gascón, had not provided an opinion as to whether a controversial inte ... More >>

SFPD Investigates Officer for Mouthing Off to Press

City Attorney Contradicts DA George Gascón's Statements on DNA Lab Memo

George Gascón​The San Francisco City Attorney's Office yesterday contradicted statements District Attorney George Gascón made last week about why his office has refused to release an internal memo criticizing the DNA unit of the city's troubled police crime lab.The memo, which was authored by na ... More >>

DA George Gascón Defends Handling of Crime Lab Memo

George Gascón​District Attorney George Gascón fought back against attacks on his suppression of an internal memo criticizing the San Francisco Police Department Crime Lab's DNA unit at a public forum for DA candidates last night, asserting that his office was prepared to disclose the memo throug ... More >>

George Gascón Criticized for Considering Three Strikes Law in Alex Trebek Burglary

Will he strike out with voters?​Update: District Attorney George Gascón's campaign manager Maureen Erwin told SF Weekly today that she believes David Onek's campaign incorrectly propagated information that Gascón chose to prosecute Lucinda Moyers under the Three Strikes law."From a campaign's st ... More >>

Will George Gascón Get the Gay Vote?

Gascón likes gay people but do they like him?​We know how discouraged San Francisco was after District Attorney George Gascón was elevated into his position only to admit that he supports the death penalty -- that's not what San Francisco voted for!But since then, Gascón has done much to rectif ... More >>

Gavin Newsom Hearts George Gascón

Degree of difficulty: No jokes about hair in this story!​In a move every bit as awe-inspiring as a magician pulling a rabbit out of a rabbit hutch, District Attorney George Gascón today trumpeted an election endorsement from the lieutenant governor. "I'm endorsing George Gascón for the same reas ... More >>

Pot Busts Are a High Priority for Cops -- But They Shouldn't Be

Waiting for Godot to fire up a joint​It's long been the desire of voters and San Francisco lawmakers that the city's peace officers enforce all other crimes before busting adults smoking pot. In light of this, it's hard for pot advocates to figure out why undercover police spent 30 minutes on Marc ... More >>

George Gascón Likens Community Courts to Village Elders Meting Out Justice

Electing George Gascon as D.A. Will Be Like Siccing These Guys On SF Apple Stealers​Are Community Courts, as proposed by District Attorney George Gascón, a great way to quickly resolve nonviolent crime cases without clogging up the Hall of Justice? Or are they merely a way for prosecutors to rail ... More >>

Accused White Supremacists Charged with Beating Mexicans in S.F.

Welcome to San Francisco, gentlemen​Three alleged white supremacists appeared in a San Francisco courtroom this morning to answer to charges of attacking two Mexican nationals -- kicking one unconscious while yelling "White power."The accused attackers in this Tenderloin hate crime case -- includi ... More >>

FBI Takes Over Police Misconduct Investigation from DA George Gascón

DA George Gascon​District Attorney George Gascón said today that he is turning over his office's investigation into alleged police misconduct to FBI agents and the U.S. Attorney's office.Following a press conference, Gascón issued a statement that U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag "has agreed to take o ... More >>

DA George Gascón Says Probe of Alleged SFPD Perjury Isn't Conflict of Interest

Independent of what?​Update: KGO reports this morning that the FBI is launching its own investigation into the allegations over the police misconduct during a drug bust earlier this year. The agency will look into possible civil rights violations among other violations.Original story, Thursday, Ma ... More >>

SFPD Officers Committed Perjury in Reporting Drug Busts, Public Defender Claims

Lawyers at the San Francisco Public Defender's Office today accused multiple police officers of committing perjury by falsely describing drug busts they conducted in written police reports.At a press conference, deputy public defenders Tal Klement and Anne Irwin showed video taken by surveillance ca ... More >>

George Gascón Targets Petty Theft, Mortgage Fraud

No new system of community courts after all?​Recently appointed District Attorney George Gascón plans to expand use of community courts for petty scofflaws, while stepping up prosecution of white-collar crimes such as mortgage fraud, according to a new report.Gascón's idea is to "develop a neigh ... More >>

George Gascón Now Western State Law School's Most Famous Alum

George Gascón has made his alma mater very proud...​It seems safe to say that, for whatever reasons erstwhile Mayor Gavin Newsom selected George Gascón to be district attorney, it wasn't for his lawyerin' skills. The former police chief -- who will be deciding whether or not to apply the death p ... More >>

Police Union Head Has 'Concerns and Regret' Over Gascón Appointment

George Gascón​The head of San Francisco's police union is circulating a bulletin to members today that expresses surprise and concern over the appointment of SFPD Chief George Gascón as the city's new district attorney.The memo also strikes a positive note, however, pointing out that a former c ... More >>

New Year's Eve: San Francisco Police Lay Down the Law

Chief Gascon wants you to be smart, not dumb​When a roomful of grimly unsmiling, gun-toting, uniformed police officers say they want everyone to "have fun," it goes without saying a definition of what is "fun" is forthcoming. Or, perhaps more accurately, here's what the San Francisco Police Depart ... More >>

Police Create Committee To Suss Out Crooked Cops

Shawn CalhounChief George Gascon is angry. He wants you to be angry, too.​A retired judge and police team will begin reviewing the misconduct and criminal histories of San Francisco police officers. This is part of a new process to disclose information that may discredit cops testifying at trial. ... More >>

Police Chief George Gascon Says Arizona Immigration Law Lets Thugs Run Wild

...Gascon says Arizona law will lead to lawlessness​San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon -- known for locking horns with anti-immigrant demagogue Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County while Gascon served as chief of police in Mesa, Arizona -- said the Grand Canyon State's much-maligned immigra ... More >>

Baylinks: Hipsters, Fliers, & Questions

Aren't we all one Web design class away from yuppie-dom, anyway?​Who's gentrifying the Mission: Hipsters vs. Yuppies. [Mission Mission]Sierra Club doesn't "frown on fliers" even if they do kill trees. [SFAppeal]Read the Mehserle jury questionnaire. [Crime Scene]Cesar Chavez meridian appears to def ... More >>

Cops Claim Pot Clubs are Crime Magnets, Won't Provide Evidence To Back It Up

According to the SFPD, this sort of stuff is happening all the time out in the Sunset. They've got evidence to prove it -- er, somewhere. ​San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon has pledged to drag his department out of the Stone Age, using the COMPSTAT system he helped pioneer in Los Angele ... More >>

Harsh Audit Slams Overworked, Careless S.F. Crime Lab

​San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon announced today that the embattled crime lab's drug unit will remain closed until it can adhere to the industry's average annual caseload per worker -- just one of many recommendations in a peer audit of the drug lab released by the police Tuesday. The ind ... More >>

Police Will Still Bust Drug Dealers Despite Crime Lab Closure

Still in business...​Police Chief George Gascon ensured in a Thursday afternoon press conference that police are continuing to bust drug dealers even as the department crime lab's narcotics unit went dark this week after accusations one of the civilian lab technicians was skimming drugs from evide ... More >>

City hounds the homeless for dog licenses

Police Chief Now Says First-Time Johns Won't Be Publicly Shamed

Umberto MarinIs this Plan B?​The problem with San Francisco is that people come here to do stuff they think they can't get away with at home. Prostitutes from South Carolina, for instance. This was police chief George Gascon's take,  expressed at a community press conference this afternoon re ... More >>

Gascon Defends Plan to Post Photos of Sex Customers. Will DJs Be the Big Winners?

Police Chief George Gascon​San Francisco already has an award-winning, nationally imitated "John School" that tries to re-educate first time offenders caught in prostitution stings. What's more, the program was lauded by an in-depth Department of Justice Analysis. Now, police chief George Gascon i ... More >>

Newsom and Gascon Annouce Drop in Violent Crime A Week After Gascon Admits Record-Keeping Flaws

​A week ago, the San Francisco Examiner broke this story about how the San Francisco Police Department statistics are botched, and have been for some time, particularly in the area of aggravated assaults. Somehow, the department failed to include domestic violence incidents in ... More >>

Cops: No Tolerance For Halloween Drunkenness, Pissing -- Making This a Remarkable Day in S.F.

It's a butterfly knife, Charlie Brown...​At yesterday's SFPD press conference, Chief George Gascon -- he of the nifty suit -- appears to have dressed as a police officer for Halloween. You can, too -- but if you tote a weapon, stumble drunkenly through public thoroughfares, urinate or defecate in ... More >>

Say Hello To My Little Friend: S.F., Meet CompStat

Can the SFPD saved by the miracle of computers? ​ Wednesday morning, at the unveiling of the city's new crimefighting tool, CompStat, San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon had the city say hello to his not-so-little friend and implementer, LAPD detective Jeff Godown.Gascon intend ... More >>

Did Police Union Block New Chief From Hiring Outside Brass?

Police Chief George Gascon​When George Gascon became chief of police two months ago, everybody seemed to agree: This bad-ass cop would rid the SFPD of its dead wood, and reform what experts had taken to calling the Western United States' most hidebound law enforcement agency.On Tuesday, Gascon is ... More >>

Chronic City: How Much Should We Read Into S.F. Police Chief's Prohibition Reference During Pot Press Conference?

George Gascon​Did San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon tacitly hint at the benefits of marijuana legalization during a press conference this week? That's one way to read the, er, tea leaves. At the conference, held Wednesday to tout the SFPD's recent raids shutting down illegal marijuana growh ... More >>

Public Defender Says Tenderloin Drug Sweep Spells Trouble for Court System

​No sooner had newly minted San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon declared a much-publicized sweep of drug dealers in the city's notoriously crime-ridden Tenderloin neighborhood than doubters began speaking up. After all, as San Francisco Chronicle columnists Matier and Ross noted recently, mak ... More >>

Proposed Rule Change Would Allow New Chief to Purge Top SFPD Brass

Chief George Gascon​New San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon has not announced plans to liquidate top SFPD brass and fill positions with his own people, as he did during his first year as chief of the police department in Mesa, Arizona.Notwithstanding, a proposed amendment introduced by Superv ... More >>

Will Police Chief's New U.S. Homeland Security Gig Undermine S.F. Crime-Fighting?

Will tough-talking George Gascon kill the federal goose that lays golden eggs that buy police departments neat toys like this?​Top S.F. crime-fighter is one of two new hats on the head of tough-talking new police chief George Gascon. He also last month signed on as a member of U.S. Homeland Securi ... More >>

Goin' Down South? With LAPD's Top Cop Stepping Down, Will George Gascon's Tenure in S.F. Be Brief?

Hello, I must be going?​When San Francisco's police chief-to-be was introduced to throngs of media members in a rather small, stuffy room earlier this summer, your humble narrator got to ask George Gascon one question. And he gave us zero answers. "How long a commitment have you given the city?" w ... More >>

The Outsider

George Gascon is S.F.'s first police chief in 30 years who wasn't homegrown — and he's promising big changes. Criminals and lazy cops, you have been warned.

Lucky George: Incoming San Francisco Police Chief Says He Was About to be Canned From Old Job

George GasconIncoming San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon -- the subject of this week's SF Weekly cover story -- is certainly walking into a dicey situation in his avowed attempts to shake up San Francisco's problematic police department. But it's better than filing for unemployment, which he c ... More >>

'Three-Ring Circus' Of Immigrant-Bashing in Mesa, Ariz. May Have Hastened New SFPD Chief George Gascon's Departure

George Gascon, San Francisco's police chief-to-beBy now, anyone even loosely following city government knows that San Francisco's next police chief is George Gascon -- and, if you've been following SF Weekly's coverage, you may even know how he stands on policy matters (and that he sounds a bit like ... More >>

Top Cop George Gascon Meets The Press

Joe EskenaziIncoming Police Chief George Gascon addresses the sweating throngs of the fourth estate, as Mayor Gavin Newsom looks onThere are two times in life when it's pretty much guaranteed that everyone will find something nice to say about you: Your wedding and  your funeral. It was a littl ... More >>

Know Your Potential Future Police Chief: George Gascon

George GasconUPDATE: Mayor Gavin Newsom did indeed choose George Gascon to be San Francisco's next chief. Recently on this page, we noted that Harold Hurtt, potentially Police Chief Heather Fong's successor in San Francisco -- may be out of a job altogether if he doesn't land the top slot here ... More >>