California Governor Gavin Newsom called in the National Guard to help clean up San Francisco in a shocking turn of events. Newsom announced a new partnership with the California Highway Patrol (CHP), California National Guard (CalGuard), San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), and the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office (SFDA) to deal with the fentanyl crisis.
Newsom said the agreement between all four agencies will focus on “dismantling fentanyl trafficking and disrupting the supply of the deadly drug in the city by holding the operators of large-scale drug trafficking operations accountable.”
He continued: “Two truths can coexist at the same time: San Francisco’s violent crime rate is below comparably sized cities like Jacksonville and Fort Worth—and there is also more we must do to address public safety concerns, especially the fentanyl crisis.
“We’re taking action.
“Through this new collaborative partnership, we are providing more law enforcement resources and personnel to crack down on crime linked to the fentanyl crisis, holding the poison peddlers accountable, and increasing law enforcement presence to improve public safety and public confidence in San Francisco.”
“The San Francisco Police Department has been working hard to stop drug trafficking by making countless arrests and narcotics seizures,” said San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott.
“Despite our ongoing work and close collaboration with the District Attorney, the fentanyl crisis has contributed to hundreds of drug overdose-related deaths.
“We welcome the support of our state partners because when we work together we can make a significant difference to make our city safer.”
“The CalGuard is seeing significant success supporting multiagency task forces interdicting fentanyl across our state,” said Major General Matthew P. Beevers of the California National Guard.
“We expect to achieve the same success working with our partners in San Francisco,” he added.
@SF_DPH street teams responded to more than 2,200 911 calls last year to respond to overdoses and provide medical, mental health, and medications for addiction treatment in the community to get them on a path to wellness and recovery. #streetcare pic.twitter.com/EDDrCKC0Wq
— SFDPH (@SF_DPH) April 1, 2023
JUST IN: San Francisco will receive help from U.S. National Guard & California Highway Patrol to battle the city’s drug crisis.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the decision Friday along with Mayor London Breed, DA Brooke Jenkins & Police Chief Bill Scott.https://t.co/g8iwV9zNbo
— The San Francisco Standard (@sfstandard) April 21, 2023
