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Chief
Deputy A. Waters
Chief
of Staff V. Ly
Dir.
of Programs Riker
Sgt.
R. Winters
Vivian
Imperiale |
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©
2015
San
Francisco
Sheriff's
Department
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A
Message from
Sheriff
Ross
Mirkarimi
Today,
we are reminded of the bold bravery of our law
enforcement officers who stride into danger to
protect the safety of others. Sometimes that
danger turns its wrath on the officer, taking
his or her life, bringing grief and sadness.
Every day brave men and women go right back into
the line of duty, putting public safety ahead of
their personal safety. We honor our officers and
offer our gratitude for their bravery. Sadly, we
send our condolences to the family of slain
Officer Michael Johnson and the San Jose Police
Department.
We also lost one of our
own recently, Deputy Robert William Ichinose,
who succumbed to cancer. His career with our
department spanned 24 years. Deputy Ichinose was
good at his job while being very giving and
supportive of his colleagues. He and I spoke and
met a few times, even when his health was
failing. He cared deeply about his family and
his extended family at work. His attitude was
positive and unfailingly selfless. Deputy
Ichinose will be missed.
Loss is balanced with
renewal, and spring arrives after winter. While
we mourn, we must also refresh our efforts to
improve peace officer and community safety. We
must work to develop mutual trust between law
enforcement and the communities they serve and
protect, rooting out bigotry wherever it
sprouts. Every shooting victim is some family's
tragedy. We can honor those lost with fresh
energy to tackle the complex and difficult
issues in our justice system.
Recently,
the Rotary Club honored the outstanding services
of San Francisco public safety personnel,
including those of Deputy Sheriff Bryant Mercado
for his quick work in rescuing two children
locked in a parked car while their mother
shopped. Despite repeated educational programs,
and high profile cases, this deadly practice
continues. This time due to the swift action of
Deputy Mercado, tragedy was
averted.
Charity
also begins at home, or more precisely, in the
chilly waters of San Francisco Bay. Department
personnel and family members participated in the
annual Polar Plunge and 5k run / walk raising
funds for the Special Olympics. This is only one
of the many events throughout the year where our
staff generously gives their time and resources
to ensure the success of community fundraising
efforts.
Focused
on improving safety for patients, visitors and
staff, the SFSD in partnership with the
Department of Public Health will open a state of
the art Sheriff's Operation Center (SOC) on the
SF General Hospital Campus in April. Not only
will the new SOC contains modern communication
and alarm equipment to ensure efficient and
timely response to hospital security issues, it
will also serve as an Emergency Operations
Center when necessary. This function will
complement and support SFGH's role as a regional
trauma center, facilitating the ability for
first responders to coordinate their crucial
work with health care providers.
Music
is always restorative, and the women in County
Jail #2 were treated to a wonderful performance
of the Cecilia Quartet from Canada. The
musicians were equally thrilled to share their
passion for making music and building community
with incarcerated women. This unique opportunity
brought windows to other worlds for both the
musicians and the inmates.
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 Robert William
Ichinose was hired as a Deputy Sheriff on
January 29, 1990, and was assigned to the then
CJ#2, on the 7th floor of the Hall of Justice
(HOJ). In 1994, he was reassigned to
the new jail at 425-7th Street, then
called County Jail #8. Robert spent most his
career working the San Francisco county jails.
Robert
is survived by his wife Carrie, his daughter
Irene and Carrie's son Sam, his mother and
father: Mayon and Benjamin and his two sisters:
Lori and Louise.
Robert
was a loving son, father and brother. He loved
fine food as well as visiting small family
restaurants. Robert enjoyed French, Hawaiian and
Chinese cuisine most. He was an avid
traveler and spent time in Hawaii.
Robert
remained a resident of Chinatown in order to
provide mentorship to the youth in the community
he loved. Robert steered Chinatown youth in a
positive direction and spent time talking with
them while being a role model to
emulate.
We mourn the
loss of a beloved friend, father and
colleague. |
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NEW
SHERIFF OPERATION
CENTER
In
April, the opening of the new San Francisco
General Hospital (SFGH) will also unveil a new
Sheriff's Operation Center (SOC), courtesy of
the San Francisco Sheriff's Department (SFSD)
and the Department of Public Health (DPH).
Equipped with modern communication technology
recommended by security industry experts, the
SOC promises to enhance the information
sharing process between the two departments,
thereby increasing security and safety measures
for employees and the public at large.
The new
SOC provides centralized monitoring measures,
such as over 250 security cameras inside both
the new and old SFGH hospital buildings and
a new campus-wide alarm system, that
promote efficiency and better response time
to the variety of law enforcement needs on the
SFGH campus.
The
SOC is versatile in its functions as a
staff briefing room, an Emergency Operation
Center (EOC) during crises, and offices with
ample report writing stations for SFSD sworn
staff. The EOC will provide all public
safety first responders the opportunity to work
collaboratively in assisting patients, staff and
the public as part of a joint command
system. Enhanced technology
coupled with centralized monitoring
facilitate better security measures, thereby
increasing public safety.
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2015
5K FUN RUN/WALK & POLAR
PLUNGE
On Saturday, February 21, 2015, the Special Olympics of Northern
California hosted the annual 5k Fun Run/Walk
and Polar Plunge. The Polar Plunge is just that
- a plunge into the chilly waters of the San
Francisco Bay. The event is one of many that
raises money to provide no-cost training and
access to sports for the 17,000 Special Olympic
athletes in Northern California. Sworn
personnel from the San Francisco Sheriff's
Department and their family members participated
in the 5k, the Plunge or both, raising nearly
$2500 for the Special Olympics. The final
numbers are not in yet, but we expect our total
dollars raised for the Special Olympics to
increase. Donations to the SFSD SONICS team
can be made up to March 31,
2015.Sgt. Raymond Winters chaired
the 5k Fun Run/Walk committee. Deputy Sheriffs
brought out the Community Relations truck and
set up our booth. The entire class of San
Francisco deputy sheriffs from the 129th South
Bay Regional not only ran the 5k and plunged,
but assisted with the set-up and take-down of
the 5k course. Everyone's hard work resulted in
a successful event for all. The 5k Fun Run/Walk and Polar Plunge
event is one of many events in which the
Sheriff's Department participates that fall
under the Law Enforcement Torch
Run umbrella. Other events include the
Tip-a-Cop events at area restaurants, the
upcoming Bike the Bridges on Sunday,
June 14th in Martinez, and Pigskin Madness - a
football related sweepstakes
event. |
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CECILIA
QUARTET PERFORMED INSIDE SF COUNTY JAIL
In
collaboration with Stanford University, on March
6, 2015, the women housed at the County Jail #2
enjoyed the rare pleasure of listening to the Cecilia String Quartet from
Canada.
Lesley
Robertson, an amazing musician, is a member of
the St. Lawrence String Quartet and a
knowledgeable advocate for using music to build
stronger communities and to
offer the next generation of musicians the
opportunity to interact with diverse
groups. Thrilled by the unique opportunity
to bring music to incarcerated women, she
stated, "We thought of the San Francisco county
jails, given all the groundbreaking programs
[the department] has
spearheaded."
The
Cecilia Quartet, taking their name from St.
Cecilia, the patron saint of music, is proud to
be celebrating its 10th anniversary for the
2014-2015 season. Musicians Min-Jeong Koh
(violin), Sarah Nematallah (violin), Caitlin
Boyle (viola), and Rachel Desoer (cello) joined
to form the quartet in Toronto in October
2004.
After
a decade filled with musical discovery and
success, they once again reside in Toronto where
they are Ensemble-in-Residence at the University
of Toronto's Faculty of Music. It was
a pleasure and an honor to have such world
renowned musicians perform at our SFSD
facility! |
The
Rotary Club Luncheon: Emergency Services
Day
 On February
10, 2015, at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel,
the Rotary Club hosted its
annual luncheon to honor the outstanding
services of nominated personnel from the San
Francisco Sheriff's, Police and Fire
Department's, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Sheriff Mirkarimi nominated Deputy
Sheriff Bryant Mercado for his act of
extraordinary service in rendering prompt and
crucial aide to two children, ages four and
one, left unattended in a parked car with all of
the windows rolled up.
On
his day off, while walking through the parking
lot at a Wal-Mart store in San Jose, Deputy
Mercado noticed the children sitting in
their car seats by themselves.
Although it was eight o'clock at night, the
actual temperature was 76 degrees, which
translated to a potentially critical situation
for the children with the intensifying heat
trapped inside of the car.
 Deputy Mercado
called the San Jose Police Department to respond
to the scene, comforted the children
while encouraging the older child
to open the door. He searched the surrounding
area for a parent or guardian, and asked a
Wal-Mart employee to make
an announcement via the store
intercom. After
about one hour, the children's mother returned
to the vehicle and admitted to leaving her
children inside the locked vehicle to prevent
the older child from running around in the
store. Deputy Mercado placed the mother under
arrest for child endangerment and turned
the case over to the San Jose Police
Department. |
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SFSD
News and Activities
 Come
join our "Sewing Our Lives Together" class every
Friday at Women's Resource Center, 930 Bryant
St. San Francisco, 1 - 3
pm.
CBS/KPIX
Channel 5 news reporter Cate
Cauguiran.
sparked an important debate as observed by
Rachel Silverman of Agence France-Presse
(AFP).
 VETERAN ORAL HISTORY
PROJECT at
the C.O.V.E.R. Pod
in County Jail 5: Alex Lyon, through the
Swords through Plowshares organization, collects
and preserves audio-recorded stories of veterans
housed in the Community of Veterans Engaged in
Restoration (C.O.V.E.R.) pod. These
recordings will be sent to the
Library of Congress in Washington D.C. for
preservation as historical documentation of the
veteran experience.
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