San Francisco continues to crack down on open-air drug markets, city officials say, but there are new hints that the reason behind it may be more than just cracking down on crime.
The San Francisco Standard reported that recent nighttime drug raids may also be part of a political deal that kept President Donald Trump from sending a surge of federal agents to the city.
The Standard said minutes from a recent police officers association board meeting indicated Deputy Chief Nicole Jones told the group that the police department’s “show of force” in the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods are directly tied to “keeping President Trump from deploying the National Guard and ICE” in the city.
Last month, dozens of federal agents arrived in the Bay Area along with buzz that Trump was preparing for a major federal operation in the area. But within hours of their arrival, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced the planned federal operation had been canceled. Trump took to social media and said he had changed his mind about a San Francisco surge after several friends had told him the new mayor was making progress.
SFPD said supercharged enforcement efforts a couple weeks ago resulted in 67 arrests and the seizure of a significant amount of narcotics.
Ginger Conejero Saab
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