New “Coast to Coast” Seat Belt Enforcement Effort Aims to
Increase Click It or Ticket Participation, Save Lives
San
Francisco, CA – From May 23 to June 5, 2016, local law enforcement personnel
will participate in the national Click It or Ticket campaign in an effort to
save lives through increased seat belt use. This education enforcement period
comes ahead of the Memorial Day holiday, one of the busiest travel weekends of
the year.
According
to research conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
while 88.5 percent of passenger vehicle occupants buckled up in 2015, almost 50
percent of occupants of fatal crashes nationwide are not restrained. In some
states, the rate is as high as 70 percent unrestrained in fatal crashes.
In California, more than a half million people travel our roadways at grave
risk without proper restraints. These facts gravely highlight the need for
increased education, awareness and enforcement and awareness of seat belt use.
This
year, NHTSA is aiming to increase campaign participation even more by
coordinating a “Coast to Coast” seat belt education and enforcement effort with
the California Highway Patrol and law enforcement around the I-10, I-40, I-70
and I-80 corridors. Additionally, law enforcement agencies statewide are
joining the Click It or Ticket effort to emphasize the “Coast to Coast” seat
belt safety awareness campaign in all 50 states.
“As
law enforcement, we have a special role in helping protect the safety of our
citizens, from the East to the West Coast,” said Chief Toney Chaplin, San
Francisco Police Department. “Time after time, we see the deadly results that
come from drivers and passengers refusing to wear a seat belt. Wearing a seat
belt is one of the most important steps in increasing survivability in a crash.
Our job is to stop those who are not buckled up, and to keep them from
repeating this potentially deadly mistake.”
In
2014, nearly half of the 21,022 passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes
nationally were unrestrained, according to NHTSA. During the nighttime hours of
6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m., that number increased to 57 percent of those killed. Law
enforcement agencies will write citations day and night, with a zero-tolerance
approach.
“Hundreds
of thousands of citizens will be traveling this Memorial Day weekend, as well
as throughout the summer vacation season. We want to make sure that people are
buckling up to keep themselves and their families safe. It is the greatest
defense in a vehicle crash,” said Rhonda Craft, Director of the California
Office of Traffic Safety.
For more information on the Click It or Ticket campaign,
please visit www.nhtsa.gov/ciot.
Arrests:
1:08am Mission/Amazon Recovered Vehicle
Ingleside Officers Lozano and McCall were on routine patrol
when they spotted an older Honda Accord parked on Mission Street with two
occupants. The officers, like all police officers, were keenly aware that older
Honda’s are the vehicle of choice for car thieves. A computer check revealed
the Honda was stolen earlier from a San Francisco address. The officers pulled
up behind the Honda, exited their patrol car, and ordered both occupants out of
the vehicle. The officers discovered a screwdriver instead of a key was used to
drive the Honda. The driver was arrested for possession of stolen property and
his passenger was released at the scene. Report number: 160403405
5:00am Bernal Heights/Anderson Recovered Vehicle
Another stolen car was discovered during another routine
patrol, this time with different officers. In this incident, Ingleside Officers
Jensen and Carew were traveling on Bernal Heights Blvd. when they spotted a
parked late model Dodge Avenger with the lights off and a single occupant. The
officers ran the vehicle’s license plate which came back stolen from an address
in San Francisco. Jensen and Carew asked the woman occupant for license,
registration, and insurance. She could provide none of the three. She did give
the officers her name. But that turned out to be a false name. When she did
provide her true name it turned out she was wanted on an active felony warrant.
She told the officers that she did not know the car was stolen and that her
cousin gave her the car to use. She couldn’t provide her cousin’s name or phone
number. She said she went to Bernal Heights to look for her lost cat. The
officers placed her in custody and arrested her for her warrants and possession
of stolen property. Before being taken Ingleside Station for booking, she asked
Officer Jensen to look for her lost cat. He politely agreed and looked around
the surrounding area for the lost feline without success. Report number:
150935941
11:05pm 2200 Blk San Jose Robbery w/Force
A man waiting at a bus stop near the Balboa Park BART Station
was punched and then robbed of his IPhone. The victim told Ingleside Officers
Toomey, George, Dilag, and Villalozano that he was on his phone, waiting for a
Muni bus, when a male suspect grabbed his phone from his hand. The victim asked
the suspect and his female companion, “What are you doing?” The male suspect
responded, “what are you going to do”, and then punched the victim in the right
eye, sending him to the ground. The victim got up and, grabbed a container of
pepper spray out of his pocket, and sprayed the male suspect in the eyes. Both
suspects then took off running east on Geneva with the victim in pursuit.
During the chase, one of the suspects threw the victim’s phone over a fence on
Geneva Avenue. In less than three blocks, both suspects were apprehended by
police and placed in custody. The stolen phone was recovered from the backyard
of a home on Geneva Avenue. The victim and one of the suspects were treated for
minor injuries at the scene by medical personnel. Report number: 160411232
Serious Incidents:
12noon 100 Blk Schwerin Hot Prowl Burglary
A young man, preparing for school, was downstairs in his home
doing laundry when he heard a loud banging on the back basement door. He went
to the back door and saw his uncle forcing the door open. Fearing for his
safety, he gathered his laundry and his school supplies, and fled the premises
to go to school. When he returned home later that evening he and his father
called police to report the burglary. Both told Ingleside Officers Marshall and
Wells the only thing missing was a tool box and tools. Report number: 160410961
3:08pm Mission/Silver Robbery w/Force
A woman called police to report a robbery and physical attack
on a Muni bus. The teenage victim told Ingleside Officers Chew and Dominguez
that she noticed a young man staring at her at the bus stop. She boarded the
#44 bus with the suspect right behind her. While on the bus the suspect grabbed
her buttocks and then reached in her purse and took out a $100 in cash before
fleeing the scene when at the next bus stop. Report number: 160410018
11:40pm Geneva/Prague Robbery
A man parking his car was attacked and robbed of his belongings.
The victim told Ingleside Officers Dilag and Villalozano that the suspect
approached him from behind and put what felt like a gun to his back. The
suspect demanded his wallet and after getting the victim’s property, punched
the victim in the mouth before fleeing. The loss was cash, credit cards, and a
driver’s license. The victim refused medical attention. Report number:
160411276
Vehicle and Other Incidents:
12:29am 3400
Blk Mission Assault
05:41am 3100
Blk Folsom Vandalism
to Vehicle
08:30am Cesar
Chavez/Vermont Hit and Run
12:15pm 100 Blk
Bocana Burglary
03:48pm Unit
Blk Calgary Traffic
Collision
03:48pm Unit
Blk Calgary Recovered
Vehicle
06:00pm Unit
Blk Nahua Hit and Run
06:25pm San
Jose/Oneida Traffic
collision
07:30pm 600 Blk
Peralta Burglary
10:00pm 100 Blk
Day Stolen
Vehicle
10;00pm 700 Blk
Portola Burglary
