Presidio of San Francisco |  |
The following Incident Reports were extracted from the NPS Morning Reports/Coalition Reports from 1989-2025. They are not a complete record of all incidents which occurred in this park during this timeframe. INCIDENTS | |
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Thursday, September 8, 1994 On August 31st, park and San Francisco fire department units responded to a fire in a residence in the Army housing area which has not yet been turned over to the park. A fire in the laundry room was extinguished; a four-year- old died in the fire, but a two-year-old was rescued and subsequently treated for smoke inhalation. The fire was jointly investigated by the park, city and Army. Preliminary investigation indicates that it may have been started by the child who died in the fire. Estimated damage and property loss has been placed at $13,000. [Kathy Clark, RAD/WRO, 9/6]
On September 21st, Western Region's all-risk incident management team under incident commander Dwayne Collier assumed management of the many events associated with "From Post to Park", the official transition of the Presidio of San Francisco from the Army to the National Park Service. The event began with a kick-off on September 24th that featured a reception by Secretary Babbitt and a speech by Vice-President Gore. A week of events will follow, culminating this weekend with appropriate ceremonies and interpretive programs. Other events include Vietexpo, a Vietnamese trade show scheduled in lower Fort Mason (which is expected to bring demonstrators), an intertribal Friendship House pow-wow, an international multi-hull regatta, a motorcycle rally, several festivals and fairs, and the annual Bridge to Bridge Run, which draws many thousands of runners. The finish line for the latter has been moved to the Parade Ground on the Presidio. Several protest marches, rallies and/or demonstrations are anticipated from a variety of special interest groups. This event also coincides with San Francisco Fleet Week, featuring visits by Navy vessels and aerobatic demonstrations by the Blue Angels. [Phil Ward, RCR, RAD/WRO, 9/22]
On Thanksgiving Day, a 60-year-old woman was hit by a vehicle while walking along Lincoln Boulevard in the Presidio, suffering serious injuries that included a broken jaw, collarbone and ribs and possible damage to her vertebrae. The vehicle that hit her left the scene, but witnesses were able to describe it as a dark-colored, American-made SUV with Colorado plates. USPP officer Raquel Lopez Milano responded and discovered the vehicle's right side mirror at the site of the incident. No other physical evidence was found. USPP ID technician Robert Whalen subsequently determined that the mirror came from a Ford Explorer, model year between 1991 and 1994. A flyer with photos of similar vehicles was created and disseminated throughout the area. USPP officers distributed them at the accident site, passing out more than 600 within three days. Public information officers at the Presidio and Golden Gate also helped with their distribution. On the night of Tuesday, December 1st, USPP officer James Guenette found an SUV that matched the description on Irving Street in San Francisco. Surveillance of the site was begun by plainclothes and uniformed officers. Meanwhile, detective Larry Morales was checking with Colorado DMV to track the vehicle's plates. He found that it was unregistered and that the license tags had been cancelled. Morales located the vehicle's former owner and obtained critical information on the current owner. Several items with personal identification information were also seen in the vehicle, confirming his identity. On Thursday, a federal search warrant was obtained and the vehicle was impounded and towed to the USPP property and evidence office for processing. An FBI evidence team went through it the next day. Based on what they found, a second flyer was distributed that identified two people of interest in the investigation, including some possible associated addresses. Officers conducted door-to-door interviews and distributed the flyers in the areas where the addresses were located and requested assistance from residents in locating the pair. Both were local to the area and checks of the local 7/11 store and a coffee house confirmed they had been seen in the area within the week. On Saturday, the primary suspect's brother contacted USPP dispatch and offered to assist in locating his brother. On Sunday, another of the man's relatives called USPP dispatch and reported that he was going to visit her that night and that she could bring him to the station on Monday morning. He showed up as promised and was interviewed. He at first denied any involvement, but soon admitted that he was the operator of the vehicle that hit the woman. He was arrested and appeared before a magistrate on December 8th. He's been charged with felony hit and run. [Lt. Constance Leonard, Commander, SFFO Operations]
Late on the evening of June 13th, USPP officer Michael Mertz stopped a vehicle for speeding on Lincoln Boulevard within the Presidio. A computer check on the driver revealed that he had an extensive criminal history and that a court-ordered warrantless search condition was on file against him. When Mertz and assisting officer Michael Cameron searched him, they found that he was wearing an empty gun holster inside his pants waistband. He and his female passenger were detained while the interior of the vehicle was searched. During the search, Cameron heard a rattling in the dashboard that was inconsistent with a normal engine sound and saw a portion of an ammunition magazine through a space in the area where the passenger's air bag would normally be located above the glove box. Further investigation revealed that this hidden compartment was designed to be accessed covertly by the vehicle operator by depressing the car brake pedal and simultaneously pressing a switch located under the driver's dashboard. The hidden compartment contained a loaded Glock 26 semi-automatic 9mm handgun and a fully loaded 30 round high-capacity magazine. This gun came back as stolen in San Francisco. The vehicle was impounded and the operator was placed in custody and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, among other federal charges. A search warrant was obtained for the vehicle. During this second and more aggressive search, a second handgun was discovered hidden behind the door panel in the driver's side door. This 40 caliber semi-automatic was also loaded. The subsequent investigation has spread to include local law enforcement agencies, and it's been determined that the man is a 'person of interest' in two Bay Area homicides, has gang affiliations, and has an extensive criminal history. The case is currently pending adjudication in federal court. USPP detective Larry Morales is the lead investigator in this case. [Lt. Thomas Hart, San Francisco Field Office]
On Saturday, February 5th, Park Police master patrol officer Michael Cameron and officer Andrew Ewing were patrolling Baker Beach, an area within the Golden Gate NRA, when they made contact with six people smoking marijuana while seated in an illegally parked RV. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a large sum of money and substantial amounts of crack, marijuana and MDA. The six were initially arrested for possession and possession with the intent to distribute marijuana and crack cocaine. Within hours of this initial contact, a seventh person, also associated with this incident, was arrested. The arresting officers have identified an eighth person and are actively pursuing leads and information that will bring her into custody. This arrest netted over 1,829 grams of processed marijuana, 51 grams of crack cocaine, 52 tablets of Ecstasy (MDMA), and $3,670 in U.S. currency. The total value of the drugs seized during this incident is over $33,000. Detective sergeant Robert Jansing, sergeant Scott Huther and officer Ezra Savage also participated in this case, which is awaiting adjudication in United States District Court in San Francisco. [Lt. Thomas Hart, United States Park Police, San Francisco Field Office]
On the afternoon of September 18th, Park Police officers were working a plainclothes auto burglary operation in the Presidio of San Francisco when they saw two men attempting to break into parked and unoccupied vehicles. When the would-be thieves saw the officers watching them, they sped away from the Presidio and into the city of San Francisco, but soon abandoned their vehicle and fled on foot in Pacific Heights. Within a short time, the area was saturated with Park Police and San Francisco PD officers and NPS rangers. A perimeter was established around the city block into which the men had fled. Some officers were posted to rooftops while others went from house to house looking for the pair. One of the two men was found in a backyard and arrested without incident. He was quickly identified by USPP officers on scene as someone who was wanted for numerous auto break-ins that had occurred throughout the Presidio and the city. After Park Police investigators consulted with the assistant U.S. attorney, an FBI special agent joined the investigation, visiting the San Francisco Field Office to question the arrested man about his involvement in a homicide that occurred in the Bay Area in 2011. He was booked into the county jail on a number of misdemeanor and felony charges. The investigation continues, including efforts to identify the second man. [Lt. Thomas Hart, United States Park Police, San Francisco Field Office]
On Tuesday, April 22nd, Park Police officers from the San Francisco Field Office conducted a traffic stop in the Presidio for an expired registration. On scene investigation led to the seizure of a significant amount of marijuana and an explosive device. The immediate area was evacuated and the San Francisco Police Department emergency ordinance disposal team responded to safely detonate the device. Further investigation by the Park Police led to the seizure of additional narcotics and drug paraphernalia from the suspect's residence. [Captain Gregory T. Monahan, San Francisco Field Office]
Articles and reports on coronavirus-related actions in the parks and NPS offices are beginning to come in, although only a few sites have made public statements, usually brief. The best overview to date has been by Kurt Repanshek in the March 15th edition of his National Parks Traveler. Rather than cite the few similar park press releases that have appeared, this first coronavirus report consists of excerpts from that article, with a link at bottom for more information: "Though a few more units of the National Park System were closing Sunday in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, and outwardly it was business as usual across the National Park System on Sunday, behind the scenes tensions were growing over the situation. The official list of closures Sunday included Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center, Lands End Lookout, the Nike Missile site, Point Bonita Lighthouse, and the Muir Woods National Monument bookstore and entrance station at Golden Gate National Recreation Area; Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument, Ford's Theatre National Historic Site, the Old Post Office Tower, and the Washington Monument. On Monday the list was to expand to include the Presidio Visitor Center, the Marin Headlands Visitor Center, and Fort Point National Historic Site, all at Golden Gate." "National Park Service officials in Washington, D.C., continued to point to the statement that their Office of Public Health was continuing to monitor the situation and was in contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as to how to move forward... "However, park superintendents were said to be growing frustrated by the situation and lack of control they have over their operations. David Vela, the Park Service's deputy director who is its de facto director, told the superintendents that they don't have discretion to close facilities if they deem them to be a health hazard to visitors or employees. Guidelines sent out to superintendents from Washington stated that 'all operational changes in parks (cancellations and closures) must be made through the proper NPS leadership channels.' "Against those realities, messaging on how to deal with the public coming down from Park Service headquarters was embarrassing to some field staff. 'There is widespread anger and frustration,' the Traveler was told. 'I'm just speculating, but I think over the next several days there's going to be some revolts.' "Lacking so far from the headquarters 'is any systematic guidance. It's totally up to how far the superintendent wants to stick his or her neck out. It's just ridiculous. I have never been so appalled at the lack of leadership. And I'm blaming this on the politicos' in the Interior Department who are calling the shots.'" Sources: Kurt Repanshek, National Parks Traveler. | |