{"id":60743,"date":"2023-10-27T12:03:40","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T19:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=60743"},"modified":"2023-10-27T12:03:40","modified_gmt":"2023-10-27T19:03:40","slug":"governor-newsom-and-san-francisco-leaders-announce-new-effort-to-investigate-opioid-linked-deaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=60743","title":{"rendered":"Governor Newsom and San Francisco Leaders Announce New Effort to Investigate Opioid-Linked Deaths"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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SAN FRANCISCO<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 Building on the state\u2019s\u00a0partnership<\/a>\u00a0with the City of San Francisco to address the fentanyl crisis, today Governor Newsom, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, and Police Chief Bill Scott announced the formation of a new joint law enforcement task force to investigate opioid-linked deaths and poisonings in the city. The new task force will include personnel from the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), the San Francisco District Attorney\u2019s Office (SFDA), the California Highway Patrol (CHP), and the California National Guard (CalGuard).<\/p>\n

The task force will treat opioid deaths in San Francisco similar to homicide cases \u2014 employing standard operating procedures to document deaths, gather relevant evidence, process intelligence to further map out the supply of fentanyl and large crime syndicates, and hold drug traffickers accountable.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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WHAT GOVERNOR NEWSOM SAID:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThe opioid crisis has claimed too many, and fentanyl traffickers must be held accountable including, as appropriate, for murder. This task force is fighting for those affected by this crisis \u2014 for victims and loved ones who deserve peace. \u00a0Working together, we will continue providing treatment and resources to help those struggling with substance use \u2014 and secure justice for families who have lost loved ones.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cFentanyl is deadlier than any drug we’ve ever seen on our streets,\u201d\u00a0said Mayor London Breed<\/strong>. \u201cWe must treat the trafficking and sale of fentanyl more severely and people must be put on notice that pushing this drug could lead to homicide charges. I want to thank Governor Newsom for continuing this support in San Francisco, and all of our state law enforcement agencies for working with us to hold those who sell this deadly drug accountable. This continued partnership between local, state, and federal enforcement agencies is making a difference.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new task force will equip the City and County of San Francisco with a deeply necessary investigative ability. Traditionally, overdoses have not been investigated as murders,\u201d\u00a0said District Attorney Brooke Jenkins<\/strong>. \u201cNow, working together we will be able to investigate fatal fentanyl overdoses where evidence may be collected to establish a connection to the person who provided the drugs that killed someone so that they can possibly be charged with murder.\u00a0 Drug dealers and traffickers have caused the death of far too many individuals in our community and this new tool will give us a better chance to hold them accountable for the true dangerousness of their conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe refuse to stand idly by as fentanyl dealers continue to profit from the tragic deaths they are causing in our city,\u201d\u00a0said San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott<\/strong>. \u201cWe are proud to stand with our city and state partners to better hold these dealers accountable and make San Francisco safe for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe California Highway Patrol is proud to be part of this innovative law enforcement collaboration happening in San Francisco to map out the crime rings fueling the fentanyl pipeline \u2014 and ultimately crush them,\u201d\u00a0said<\/strong>\u00a0CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee.\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cOur skilled investigators are unmatched in their commitment to serve the people of California, solve crime, and bring justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs part of this new task force, our analysts at the California National Guard will work behind the scenes to connect the dots \u2014 to identify dealers, suppliers, and traffickers so law enforcement can secure justice,\u201d\u00a0said Major General Matthew Beevers, CalGuard<\/strong>. \u201cWe\u2019ve had tremendous success serving in a similar role in San Diego and Fresno and we\u2019re ready for this mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through investigative efforts, evidence gathering, and data analysis, the task force will seek to identify and disrupt opioid distribution networks in San Francisco that are responsible for fatal overdoses and poisonings. Similar efforts have proven successful in other cities, including San Diego and Fresno, where CalGuard analysts contribute support to opioid-linked death investigations. San Francisco\u2019s task force is expected to be fully operational by early next year.<\/p>\n

San Francisco has seen an alarming\u00a0rise<\/a>\u00a0in fentanyl-linked deaths. Since the state began its increased law enforcement efforts in San Francisco on May 1, 2023, the CHP has seized 18.5 kilos of fentanyl and made 364 felony and misdemeanor arrests in the Tenderloin and the surrounding area. The CHP\u2019s efforts are part of a collaborative operation between multiple agencies, including the CHP, CalGuard, the California Department of Justice, SFPD, and SFDA. The joint effort is focused on improving public safety, targeting fentanyl trafficking, disrupting the supply of the deadly drug in the city, and holding the operators of drug trafficking rings accountable. The operation builds on the\u00a0Governor\u2019s Master Plan for Tackling the Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis<\/a>, which includes an expansion of CalGuard-supported operations that last year led to a 594%\u00a0increase<\/a>\u00a0in seized fentanyl and historic levels of funding \u2014 $1 billion statewide \u2014 to crack down on the crisis and assist those struggling with substance use.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SAN FRANCISCO\u00a0\u2014 Building on the state\u2019s\u00a0partnership\u00a0with...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ca-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60743"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60744,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60743\/revisions\/60744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}