The above quote was originally attributed to a British politician named Gladstone circa 1868, but to a student of American socio-political history such as myself, it came most singingly prominent when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote it down while...

If you are doing traffic enforcement, sooner or later you are going to get a "runner." If you are going to pursue these minor-league violators, you have to keep in mind: The safety of the general motoring and pedestrian public....

Even when you’re not on the clock, you’re still a cop. ... I was still living in San Francisco’s Glen Park neighborhood and commuting to the new Potrero Station for my stint as swing watch patrol commander. Being new to...

The Rug Rat was choked, kicked, beaten, and robbed many times over, and finally stabbed in the back, but it was all part of his job as a police decoy. After four or five years of foot-beat-on-the-job-training that I got...

The Golden Gate Bridge in my City is a world-renowned iconic image. Uncounted photos, postcards, movies, and songs have been created to celebrate its enduring beauty. In contrast, the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge on the eastern side of...

Sergeant Mike was a godsend to us illiterate peasants in uniform patrol when it came to traffic collisions and other arcane and confusing issues of law and disorder. When he was a newish and simple slick-sleeve cop, he managed somehow...

When you walk my City, all 46.9 square miles of it for as many years as I did when I was a beat cop, you get to know the place literally from the sidewalks up. San Francisco is by record...

I had checked off for my lunch break as Watch Commander at Taraval Police Station in San Francisco at about 1500 hrs and was recreationally shopping at the nearby Macy’s. My westside district was chronically understaffed because, according to Police...

Paying attention during the most mundane tasks can pose a dilemma. When do you choose to get involved? As was customary when I got off-duty, I gassed up my truck at a Chevron close to my West Side Station before...

When politicians get stars in their eyes, especially if it involves 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in Washington DC, then local city budget restrictions get ignored. In San Francisco, California, then Mayor Diane Feinstein was a fast rising star in Democratic politics...