Megan Cassidy

The man who was at the center of a landmark San Francisco police brutality trial after an officer repeatedly struck him with a baton in 2019 was fatally shot in the Mission District over the weekend, authorities said. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner identified the victim as 36-year-old Dacari Spiers, a San Francisco resident. Police have not identified a suspect or made any arrests. Three sources with knowledge of the investigation said that Spiers was at an illegal gambling operation…

A main entrance to San Francisco City Hall was defaced with racist and sexist slurs, Mayor London Breed said on Wednesday, denouncing the graffiti as “disgusting.” Addressing reporters steps from the vandalism site, Breed pledged a “full, thorough and transparent investigation” and said the city was working to remove the graffiti as soon as possible. “City Hall represents a public space of inclusion and of equity, a place where all should feel welcome to come, for any particular purpose,” Breed…

A Concord person accused of producing child pornography after plying 16- and 17-year-old girls with fentanyl was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison this week, in a case U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey called “every parent’s worst nightmare.” Prosecutors said Javier Ramirez, 29, repeatedly introduced fentanyl and other narcotics to at least three known victims under 18, and supplied it to them at a discounted rate or for free in exchange for sex acts. Each of the girls overdosed on several occa…

UPDATE: Man who attempted jail escape from S.F. General was set to be freed that day An incarcerated man briefly escaped from a room at San Francisco General Hospital on Tuesday after climbing through the ceiling, according to an official with the San Francisco sheriff’s deputies union. The man, whose name was not immediately released, was being held at the jail ward at the hospital when he fled, according to Ken Lomba, president of the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association. People suspected of crimes i…

San Francisco police said Wednesday that they identified a 14-year-old boy suspected of setting ablaze a Waymo robotaxi in Chinatown during Lunar New Year celebrations in February. Prosecutors have filed charges against the teen, police said. His name was not released due to his age. The city’s Juvenile Probation Department will decide whether the teen will be arrested or appear in court out of custody, officials said. Just before 9 p.m. on Feb. 10, police responded to the 700 block of Jackson…

Three years after a tenants rights activist alleged that city commissioner and affordable housing official Jon Jacobo had raped her, three additional women have come forward to accuse the once-rising San Francisco political star of sexual assault or domestic violence, according to a report published Tuesday in the San Francisco Standard. Hours after the report was published, Jacobo resigned from his leadership position at TODCO Group, a San Francisco-based affordable housing nonprofit. “After…

An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot accused of trying to shut off the engines of a San Francisco-bound plane on Sunday suggested that he was on psychedelic mushrooms at the time of the incident, and allegedly stated that he “tried to kill everybody,” according to federal court documents. Joseph David Emerson of Pleasant Hill is facing 83 state charges of attempted murder after the alleged attempt to bring the plane down, and court documents made public on Tuesday reveal federal officials will seek…

The person who was fatally shot by San Francisco police after crashing a car into the Chinese Consulate building Monday was swinging a knife in close proximity to officers in the moments before police opened fire, according to a person familiar with the investigation. A crossbow was also recovered at the scene, the source said. Officials with the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner have not yet released the name of the person who was killed, and police have not yet released the…

San Francisco officials have identified the man who was fatally shot by San Francisco police on Monday after driving into the Chinese Consulate building as 31-year-old San Francisco resident Zhanyuan Yang. Officials with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said Yang’s family had been notified and that city officials had no additional comment. Just after 3 p.m., Monday, San Francisco police responded to the consulate building near Geary Boulevard and Laguna Street in Japantown after a person…

UPDATE: California DMV suspends Cruise’s driverless taxis in S.F., citing safety concerns After a string of high-profile incidents on San Francisco’s roadways, Cruise plans to roll out a suite of technological upgrades intended to make its driverless cars more adept at responding during emergencies, the company said Thursday. This means better navigating around double-parked ambulances and fire trucks to avoid blocking traffic, better detection of sirens and flat fire hoses and allowing first…