SF national parks ‘not safe,’ US police union says

This story first appeared on KRON4.com May 26, 2022:

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – The union representing the United States Park Police who patrol San Francisco’s national parks stated “families should avoid unnecessary travel to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Presidio” — just days ahead of Memorial Day Weekend.

Kenneth Spencer, the chairman of the U.S. Park Police Fraternal Order of Police, stated May 24 in a press release that “with the Memorial Day holiday weekend here, millions of American families are putting the final touches on their summer vacation plans. It saddens me to say that those plans should not include visits to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area or the Presidio because, simply put, they are not safe.”

The statement is a very public surfacing of a labor dispute between the union and the National Park Service, which oversees the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It also comes comes as concern about crime in San Francisco has become a topic of national concern, fueling next month’s recall election of District Attorney Chesa Boudin.

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