San Francisco Sheriff's Department

Prison Break: Realignment Inmates Enter Rehabilitation in S.F.

Hundreds of Ex-Cons Headed to San Francisco

​An estimated 700 ex-convicts who would ordinarily be handled by state parole authorities will be transferred to San Francisco for monitoring beginning tomorrow, and some are raising questions about whether the city is ready to deal with the influx of newly released prisoners.The process, known by ... More >>

Ranger Noir: S.F. Park Patrol Run as Money-Making Machine

​An estimated 700 ex-convicts who would ordinarily be handled by state parole authorities will be transferred to San Francisco for monitoring beginning tomorrow, and some are raising questions about whether the city is ready to deal with the influx of newly released prisoners.The process, known by ... More >>

Arrested Vegans Get Vegan Meals in S.F. County Jails

my_southborough​If you're vegan and you go to jail, do you get vegan meals? In a city with a substantial vegan population, this is no trivial question. It turns out that, while the law does not require jails to provide vegan options, S.F. County jails do serve vegan meals on request, and we've ... More >>

Mother of Issiah Downes, Man Killed in County Jail, Gets $350,000 from City

Issiah Downes​The city has reached a $350,000 settlement with the mother of Issiah Downes, the 300-pound inmate whose death at the county jail was ruled a homicide blamed on San Francisco sheriff's deputies. The medical examiner said that Downes died of "probable respiratory arrest during prone re ... More >>

San Francisco MS-13 Gang Wasn't Violent Enough for Edwin Ramos, Witness Says

Accused murderer of the Bologna family jumped into a more violent clique in Richmond, witness testifies. One attorney alleges Bologna murders could have been prevented had federal agents deported Ramos when they first knew about his crimes.Edwin Ramos wasn't indicted with the 24 alleged MS-13 gangst ... More >>

Jailhouse Phone Calls to Go Unmonitored -- Reach Out and Whack Someone

'Don't forget your silencer, Vito.'​Thanks to budget constraints, the San Francisco Sheriff's Department has cut back on monitoring prisoner phone calls, which, in the past, has helped prosecutors mount credible criminal cases. But now, that full-time government monitoring has gone away.The Sherif ... More >>

Ross Mirkarimi Running for Sheriff, Not Mayor

Mirkarimi slides right into the sheriff's race​Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi has declared he will run for San Francisco Sheriff, putting an end to speculation that he might run for mayor. Mirkarimi, who represents District 5, told SF Weekly that he just now pulled papers from the elections department ... More >>

San Francisco Finally Apologizes to Bobby Badfingers for His Six Days in Jail

This tale has no snappy ending.​After nearly three years trying to get recopense for a six-day 2008 jail stint he says was unfair, Bobby Badfingers, the world's fastest finger-snapper, has received an apology from City Attorney Dennis Herrera:"On behalf of the San Francisco Sheriff's Department, w ... More >>

Conservative Immigration Think Tank Wants To Kill San Francisco's Federal Dollars

Sorry, Buster. No more money to keep you here...​San Francisco jails should lose roughly $750,000 in Department of Justice dollars. That's the gist of a  memo released this month by the Washington, D.C.-based conservative think tank Center for Immigration Studies, which accuses San Francisco ... More >>

SF Jails Wrong Luke Smith For 11 Days, Lawsuit Claims

They all look the same to me...​In an apparent jailhouse version of babies accidentally switched at the hospital, the San Francisco Sheriff's Department allegedly switched identification numbers of two Luke Smiths who happened to be in jail at the same time last May, according to a new lawsuit. Th ... More >>

Is Philadelphia More Immigrant-Friendly Than San Francisco?

Does Philly's Michael Nutter have more spine than Gavin Newsom?​Philadelphia's deputy mayor said yesterday that his city will likely cease cooperating with federal immigration officials by sharing records of local arrests, a policy change that would put it in the vanguard of so-called "sanctuary c ... More >>

'Secure Communities' Program Nails 29 Illegal Immigrants In S.F. Jail

After all, now we have finger prints...​ICE touts success stories of new program -- but San Francisco sheriff's department would have reported "criminal aliens" anyways under old sanctuary city policyIn the first nine days after the San Francisco Sheriff's Department begrudgingly implemented the f ... More >>

City Attorney Seeks Injunction Against the Marina's Crime-Ridden Bridge Motel

​ As detailed in our recent cover story, "Motel Hell," the Bridge Motel in the Marina had been a dilapidated, stinking monument to neglect for more than a decade. The down-and-out and oftentimes disabled folks who live in the residential motel have been subjected to re ... More >>

Motel Hell

It took years for the city to move against an SRO that was full of pests. So one resident took her case to court.

Prison Legal News Suing San Francisco, Sheriff's Department, and City Attorney Over Unanswered Public Records Request

So much for the Sunshine Ordinance...​ The public records request was not very complicated. Prison Legal News (PLN), a Seattle-based nonprofit and monthly journal, wanted to review all the litigation filed against the San Francisco Sheriff's Department, including settlements and verdicts ... More >>

A Welcome Diversion: Renowned Dog-Cat-Rat Man Heads for Drug Treatment

By Peter Jamison It ain't easy strolling through Baghdad by the Bay with three species of pets stacked atop one another. Just ask Gregory Pike, who has famously trained a rat to stand on top of a cat standing on top of a dog. His outrageously cute animal act has made him a star on YouTube and ... More >>

‘Dog-Cat-Rat Man’ Busted for Crack Possession

By Peter Jamison It ain't easy strolling through Baghdad by the Bay with three species of pets stacked atop one another. Just ask Gregory Pike, who has famously trained a rat to stand on top of a cat standing on top of a dog. His outrageously cute animal act has made him a star on YouTube and ... More >>

Cell Phoney

Making phone calls from jail, Harley Mike allegedly helped three prisoners escape and conned parole agents, sheriff's deputies, and judges.

Sunset on a Murder

Everyone thought the drunken fighting was just boys being boys. Until Robert Ramirez was shot 14 times in the face and Philip Sands -- one of his closest west-side friends -- was charged with murdering him.

The Injury and the Odyssey

A deputy sheriff's 10-year adventure in bureaucratic limbo

Mulch

A deputy sheriff's 10-year adventure in bureaucratic limbo