>> we are here today to discuss a very, very important issue that has been plaguing our community, even more so under covid. some call it sideshows. it's something that, under covid , is happening all over san francisco. two weeks ago, we have one of the worst incidents that we saw in the city. it went on for an hour and a

half, almost two hours. at the end, three individuals were shot and one individual died. i want to be clear, this is still under investigation. it is not necessarily associated with the activities that were happening that night, but it's something that certainly shows and underscores that these are dangerous events. these are events that cannot be tolerated in san francisco. these are not professionals, these are not individuals that have professional training to do these types of stunts and tricks with their cars. i want to say clearly that we have zero tolerance for these in san francisco. at the end of the day, i also want to extend my condolences to the family in sacramento that lost their life. this individual was about to have a child. i don't want that to be lost. i think we need to pay respect to that. yesterday, chief scott and i, after working on this for a couple of months, along with the

mirror's office, introduced a piece of legislation that would increase the ability in san francisco to impound vehicles. i want to be very clear. if you do involve yourself in these activities and we are able to videotape and document your car and your activity, you have the penalty of being arrested and put in prison for up to six months. we have the ability to impound your vehicle and first defence is no less than two weeks. second offences longer than that and third event, just shy of 30 days. if you get involved in these, the police chief we'll talk about the unit and the task force that they have assembled to put together on this. we will take your vehicle. we will impound your vehicle and there will be consequences to your actions. i want to thank all the neighbours and all the individuals that have been involved with this.

i want to recognize our captain who is around here. thank you for working with us on this. and especially thank you to chief scott and the mayor for all of her support and hard work on this. now i would like to introduce our mayor. thank you. >> thank you, supervisor. thank you for being here today. i really want to take this opportunity to recognize the leadership of our supervisors. since i have been mayor and since he has been supervisor, we have been doing a lot of work for the community. we have heard from a lot of the residents and merchants on the need for this community. and what i appreciate about his work is that he is bringing the resources, he is bringing the attention, he is bringing the support to what is a neglected part of the city. and even for the first time in over 20 years, one of the first affordable housing developments

in the city, just on the streets , he helped to save units that were almost lost to market right with low income families. the reason why i go back to that is because it's so important, it is so critical to make sure that we have someone who represents the district and answers to community and answers to the needs of the residents here. in in this particular case and the slot -- sideshows, the supervisor answered the call. he reached out to me and reached out to the team. it was not just because of the complaint of the people who live here and work here. it was the cause and currently a dangerous situation. it is dangerous for the participants, dangerous for the spectators, dangerous from all the folks who are in range of this particular event. let me just say, i grew up in san francisco. i have seen sideshows.

i know people want to participate in them. i know people think they are fun and they are exciting and especially during covid. people feel like there's nothing to do. they want to go out and participate and see these things , but sadly, we are putting lives at risk. we are participating in these events. sadly they could result in someone's death and that is why we're here today. we don't always want to use this heavy hand of law enforcement to address issues, but in this particular case, because of the danger, you have left us with no choice. in san francisco, they will not be tolerated. we will do everything we can to address them in a manner in which it is fitting of what is happening. do not come to our city with the sideshow crap that creates the problem that we don't want to see in our neighbourhood. do not use this as a play to congregate for that purpose.

we will do everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen and this is just the first step. we hope that you comply. we hope that you will also be considerate of what happens at these particular events. we understand that people want to do this, but they are dangerous and this is no fun if someone is killed. with that, i want to take this opportunity to introduce our police chief, bill scott. >> thank you. first i want to thank the mayor and supervisor for their leadership. i want to reiterate a couple of things that have been said. first and foremost, these exhibitions of the stench driving, under the law are illegal. it is reckless driving. i can't tell you how many times people put their lives at risk for these exhibits. i want to point out a couple of

things and highlight some of what the legislation offers and how it can be helpful for us. number one, this legislation sets expectations of accountability. if you participate in one of these events, if you do trick driving, if we see it online, we see it in person, it is outright dangerous. if your car is impounded, the first offences it will be impounded for two weeks. second offence, if the car is impounded, it will be impounded for 29 days. your car will be impounded no more than 30 days, but definitely no less then what the law allows. we want to be consistent, we want to set expectations of accountability and consequences in the city, and if we can prove that you are behind the wheel,

you will be arrested. what we are doing in the police department police department, a couple months ago, as a supervisor mentioned, we trained a spot of officers to deal with this event. we cannot do this alone. our law enforcement partners in the bay area, this is a regional problem. we see all across the state. we are working with partners and other jurisdictions who had similar issues and we are communicating. when he the public's help in that because when you see these things occurring, we don't want people to put themselves in harms -- harm's way. if you have any video surveillance at your residence or your business or videotaping with your cell phone or video camera, please share that information with us. a lot of people will posted online and that is okay too. if you are going to posted online, give it to us as well. part of what needs to happen for this work effectively is we need to be able to put the driver behind the wheel.

then we can do something with that case. i want to say to the incident that brought us here today, we know and i know and we have heard from the public. there is a lot of frustration when these things occur. we have to have a thoughtful plan to respond to these events because of the danger. the one that the supervisor was referring to, there were hundreds of spectators. there were 50 cars and more participating. when two officers arrive at that scene, they can't just rush in. what our experience has told us is that often times we are compensated. we see officers surrounded, cars vandalized, we see, not in this

city fortunately, but we see officers run over. we have to bring the appropriate resources to deal with this situation. it takes a little time to rally the resources. the units that we train up, we want them to specialize in being able to deal with these situations. it is a resource driven need here. we understand the frustration, but we want the public to know that we are working to make the situation better. we have trained our officers and we are working with supervisors. we have the mayor's support and the legislation. it will bring consistency and consequences. lastly before i close, i want to give examples of what we are talking about. this event a couple of weeks ago , as i said, there were 300

spectators, 300 vehicles and unfortunately a man was shot to death in the immediate vicinity. we had over 100 calls. people are concerned for their safety. you can't blame them. people are tired, yelling and screaming, if anything, you are bad news. when the officers arrive and shots were fired. now they are dealing with a life or death situation where three people were shot. they needed to get medical aid and save their lives. it complicates the matter. often times what we have found is these events, often times turn into conflict with shots fired. a good example, august 24th of this year, there was a motor vehicle, a daytime event. they were stunned driving.

they were burning rubber and approximately 100 spectators cheering them on. at one point, one of them lost control of the car and almost hit several spectators. we did not have anyone killed in that situation. i could repeat it over and over again. we have -- we had other incidences in the recent past were events of culminated with shots being fired and people being hurt. here is the message. if you participate in these illegal and reckless events, your car, if we catch you will be impounded and it will be no less than two weeks on the first incident. no less than 29 days on the second incident thereafter. if we put you behind the wheel, if we can prove that you aided or abetted in the participation and the facilitation of these events, you will be arrested.

even if you want arrested that night, if we have the evidence and video through the evidence that we need to prove then we are coming after you. that is the message that us, the mayor, the board of supervisors and the people of the city want you to hear if you are participating in these events. thank you for your time and thank you for your leadership. >> thank you, chief. i want to underscore one last point. let's make this clear. people that also set the perimeter, people that use their vehicles a set of these events in criminal terms called aiding and abetting, those two will

have their vehicles seized. we will have the ability to go after them. it's not just the individuals that are driving the vehicles. is the individuals that are participating in and major participants of setting up the events. that is something that chiefs got in i have spent a lot of time talking about. the mayor feels really strongly about this. we have to have accountability. it will not just be the individuals who were driving the vehicles and doing the stunts, it will be the people who are aiding and abetting and setting up these events. we also, as a result, and i want to thank the mayor as part of the budget process, will be getting over 15 cameras on this camera and video evidence is one of the most important factors in these crimes. this corner that has been plagued a few times, in the next few weeks we will have 15 video cameras put up. we have been working with a captain in his office to increase foot patrol.

it is not just about the activity itself. it is about setting the environment to make sure people understand that we take the safety of this neighbourhood as a top priority. [♪] >> commission virtual meeting of the san francisco entertainment commission many of i'm ben and the commissioner's president welcome. due to the covid-19 health emergency and to protect entertainment commissioner members, city employees and the public the meeting rooms are closed however members and employees will be participating in the meeting remotely. this precaution is taken per sigh ant to various local state and federal orders, declaration and directives and commission members and employees will attend the meeting through video conference and participating in the meeting to the same extent as if they were physically present.