California National Guard Called In to Fight San Francisco Crime Wave
The rise in fentanyl deaths has led California to call on its National Guard to help deal with the crisis in San Francisco while also putting California Highway Patrol officers to work in the city.
The beefed-up attention to the fentanyl epidemic was announced Friday in a press release from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The California Highway Patrol will provide technical assistance, training and enforcement within what the release called “key areas” of San Francisco, including the Tenderloin district.
The California National Guard will use personnel and resources to attack fentanyl distribution rings, the release said.
Hey San francisco, do you actually believe the governor has any intention of making mass arrests to stop the flow of fentanyl into the city? Imagine the footage of all those brown and black folks in handcuffs. Bad optics as Obama said.#mayorlondonbreed #sf #SanFrancisco #FJB pic.twitter.com/vtNdeaSwW4
— Yodeputy (@yodeputy) April 22, 2023
The release said there has been a 40 percent increase in fentanyl deaths from January through March,
The release highlighted a report in the San Francisco Chronicle that said the city had the second-highest fentanyl overdose rate and second-highest fentanyl overdose death rate in 2020.
At least 5 years too late, sadly. Nothing changes unless political behavior is PROACTIVE rather than waiting around the REACT. https://t.co/5aCLpWBBUx
— Patrick Flaherty, DO, FACC (@drflaherty) April 22, 2023
According to KGO-TV, reports from San Francisco’s Chief Medical Examiner indicated that the first two months of the year recorded 130 drug overdoses, up from a little over 100 last year.
The reports indicated that more than 650 people died annually in the past two years from overdoses in San Francisco.
This is NOT what the National Guard is for.
Typical Newsom. Self-adulation for fighting a symptom while ignoring the root cause caused by himself. https://t.co/1nddAElbmd
— Chuck Lyons (@ChuckSteeleSr) April 22, 2023
The increased presence of law enforcement drew a pushback from San Francisco Public Defender Manu Raju, according to KTVU.
“No amount of law enforcement will solve what is really a public health crisis,” he said.
“We know from 50 years of the war on drugs that the people who are likely to be targeted by any forthcoming operations will be in low-income and black and brown communities, including those who have been trafficked or coerced into the drug trade under threat to themselves and their families,” Raju said.
San Francisco’s enablement policies have allowed things to get so bad, the California governor just sent the National Guard to try to regain order.
Still, we have imbeciles who think the enablement model will work. https://t.co/kPzGd8tY8n
— Cory Morgan (@CoryBMorgan) April 21, 2023
Jacqui Berlinn, founder of Mothers Against Drug Addiction and Deaths, said her son, Corey, is an addict living on the streets and had a different reaction.
“I literally almost started crying. This is what my group has been working for for over a year. The fact that he’s doing this, that he’s putting resources into this effort is huge to me,” she said.
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