Over four years ago, I came to Taraval Station as a new captain. I had been in the San Francisco Police Department for over twenty years at that time and had been a lieutenant for ten years.
Even though I had been around a while, I still had to learn to be a station captain. One of the things I found out is that you have to live and breathe your station. Community meetings,
department meetings, staff meetings, and community events mean that you spend a lot of time at work. But it’s been very rewarding.
Since I have been here, I have made many friends in the community. When I told them I was leaving they were sad but understood that station captains get rotated every few years. Many people said that I did a good job here.
I believe I did a good job at Taraval Station, but the officers did a better job. They are the ones who respond to the calls for service. When citizens’ call for help, they are the ones who show up and try to resolve the problems. They are the ones who conduct traffic enforcement daily to reduce the number serious injury or fatal collisions. They are the ones who arrest armed robbers and burglars. They are the ones who walk the beat. They are the ones who do most of the work.
Last year, for the first time in five years, The Taraval Police District did not have a homicide. Last year we had the lowest number of robberies in five years. Last year we had the lowest number of aggravated assault in five years. This occurred because of the dedication and commitment of the officers assigned to Taraval Station.
One group of officers that I do not speak about enough are inspectors assigned to the the Station Investigative Team. These are the detectives that investigate the majority of the crimes in the Taraval District. They are outstanding. In the last two months, they have broken up two residential burglary rings that have been operating in the Taraval District. They also conducted an investigation which led to the arrest of two women who tricked an elderly woman into giving them large sums of money. At that same time, they arrested a man for imposing as a City inspector who went in an another elderly woman’s house to commit a burglary under the pretense of inspecting her house. These are just some of the recent investigations and arrests that this excellent team of inspectors has done.
There is also a small group of officers who are part of the Captain’s Staff. These officers, coordinate permits and subpoenas, analyze crime data, create and manage the Taraval website, maintain the vehicles and facilities, and retrieve video evidence. I could not have done my job so well without them. They are the people who help keep the station running smoothly and they have done well.
The unsung hero who works the hardest, is my administrative sergeant. Sergeant Kevin Mannix. He is the person who gets things done. When people want to hold a fair or have an event, I tell them, “sure, no problem.” Then I tell Sgt. Mannix. He is the one who has to coordinate everything and write an operation order for the event. He is the one who makes sure that everything goes ok. I just show up at the event. There have been a few times when I have gotten frustrated at work. I close the door to my office and then Sergeant Mannix gets to listen to me rant and rave. I usually tell him that I’m not yelling at him and that I’m just venting. He tells me that he understands. He has been excellent sergeant and a better friend.
I would be remiss if I did not also thank Supervisor Katy Tang, Supervisor Norman Yee, Supervisor John Avalos, and Supervisor London Breed. I learned that they all care greatly for their constituents and want them to be safe. It was a pleasure to work with them.
I could not have done anything without the support of the community. The Taraval Community Police Advisory Board has been strong supporters of the officers at Taraval Station. For over four years they have met with me once a month to help and to work on projects that benefited the Taraval Police District. The Outer Sunset Merchants and Professional Association have also helped the police department. Four years ago they started an annual Christmas Toy Drive. These toys were given to under privileged children in San Francisco. They collected 1000 toys for Taraval Station. Last year, the police department as a whole did not get as many toys as the years past. I asked the West Portal Merchants Association if they could also do a toy drive. They did this and these toys also went to the under privileged children in the City. There are so many neighborhood associations that have supported the officers at Taraval Station. I would like to thank them all. We could not have done this job without all of their support.
I will be moving on to the San Francisco International Airport for the my next assignment. I will take with me my fond memories of all the great people inside and outside of the police department that I have met. I was very lucky to have been at Taraval Police Station.
– Captain Curtis Lum