Liberal San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced earlier this month she’s cracking down on the crime spike her policies created. But that move has angered Chesa Boudin, San Francisco’s even further left district attorney.
Specifically, Breed targeted the Tenderloin neighborhood for intervention efforts given the “pipeline of illegal drugs that has been fueling a surge in gun violence and deadly fentanyl overdoses,” reported CBS San Francisco.
“It’s time the reign of criminals who are destroying our city, it is time for it to come to an end,” she said. “And it comes to an end when we take the steps to more aggressive with law enforcement. More aggressive with the changes in our policies and less tolerate of all the bullsh*t that has destroyed our city.”
On Monday, Boudin criticized the plan during a news conference.
"We all share the concern and the pain about the situation in the Tenderloin," Boudin said. "Personally, I am outraged every time I walk or drive through Tenderloin. The raw human suffering, the flagrant violations of law, the neglect, and the circumstances that we see that are going in direct violation of our most basic core human principles – about caring for others in need."
"Arresting people who are addicted to drugs, jailing people who have mental health struggles, putting folks who are vending hot dogs or other food on the streets in cages will not solve these problems, and they are certainly not the only tools available," he continued. "Right now in San Francisco it is easier to get high than it is to get help. That must stop. That must change right now. We cannot simply arrest and prosecute our way out of problems that are afflicting the Tenderloin and so many parts of our city. We can’t continue to wait for the police to respond and make an arrest before we intervene. We must as a city intervene before crimes are committed, before damage is done."
Bouudin suggested supervised injection sites, additional mental health help, and affordable housing could help “save lives.”
Sen. Tom Cotton called the opposition to Breed’s plan predictable.
"It's no surprise that Chesa Boudin opposes this—cracking down on crime goes against everything a Soros prosecutor stands for," he tweeted. "Every single Soros prosecutor needs to be recalled, removed, and replaced."