San francisco

SAN FRANCISCO — The original charges were shocking: Six San Francisco police officers were accused of stealing from drug dealers. Then federal prosecutors released racist and homophobic text messages. Those texts have now turned a small-time police corruption case into a racially charged scandal, thrusting a diverse and liberal city into the national debate over policing in minority communities. "We now know this can happen in San Francisco," San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon said. "We're certainly not immune to the problems that we have seen in Baltimore, Staten Island, South Carolina." The San Francisco turmoil comes amid growing tensions between police departments and communities of color. Large, sometimes violent protests over police treatment of black suspects have occurred in several cities over the last two years. That has put police under a microscope. Three Fort Lauderdale, Florida, police officers were fired last month and a fourth resigned after … [Read more...] about San Francisco police under fire for racist, homophobic texts after drug scandal

The mummified body of a 90-year-old woman, who is believed to have died years ago, was exhumed by firefighters Saturday night from a rat-infested San Francisco home that’s literally filled to the ceiling with trash. Workers wearing oxygen masks needed several days to remove enough of the trash to uncover the corpse of the unidentified woman, CBS San Francisco reported. Stranger still, the hoarder had company: Her 65-year-old daughter lived in the house and knew about the body for years. “I’m saddened that she couldn’t let her mother go,” neighbor Sharon Scott Kish told CBS San Francisco. “I saw her three days ago and I asked her, ‘Is your mother still with us?’ And she said, ‘Yes.’ Delusional. She was with her.” Others neighbors said they saw the daughter walking her dog daily but she ignored any attempts at friendship or interaction. The … [Read more...] about Mummified body of elderly woman found in filthy San Francisco home, years after her death: cops (VIDEO)

More than 70 passengers aboard an Asiana Airlines flight that crashed in San Francisco two years ago have reached a settlement in their lawsuits against the airline, attorneys for the passengers and airline said in a court filing Tuesday. The settlement with 72 passengers who filed personal injury claims also includes Boeing Co., which made the airplane, and Air Cruisers Co., the New Jersey company that made its evacuation slides. The filing did not include the settlement's financial terms, and plaintiffs' attorney Frank Pitre said those details are confidential. This is the first set of lawsuits stemming from the crash to be resolved, he said. Dozens of additional cases involving more than 70 plaintiffs are still pending in federal court in Northern California. "This is the first positive step for these passengers to be able to get closure on a tragic, catastrophic crash and hopefully try to get their lives back together," Pitre said. "We're pleased we've been able to get … [Read more...] about Asiana Airlines settles with 72 passengers in San Francisco crash

The San Francisco house of horrors where the mummified body of an elderly woman was found years after she died has hit the market for nearly $1 million. Real estate agents are asking a whopping $928,000 for the "major fixer" where the corpse of 90-year-old Anna Mae Ragin was discovered in April, surrounded by rats and mountains of trash. "The home has a good location in the very desirable LAKE District neighborhood," the Zephyr listing says, adding that the property boasts a "real news worthy history." That sick past includes the discovery of the dead woman who was wrapped in a blanket for an estimated five years. Authorities said her 65-year-old daughter had been living in the so-called "Hoarder Home" with the rotting corpse the entire time. Workers, donning oxygen masks, had found toxic mold and 300 bottles of urine inside the house before they dug up the dead body from the dumps. "I'm not saying the history … [Read more...] about San Francisco house where woman’s mummified body was found is on sale for nearly $1M

Several veteran police officers in the San Francisco police department are under investigation after a trove of racist and homophobic text messages were released by the feds in an attempt to stop a bigoted former cop’s attempt to get bail on corruption charges. Former Sgt. Ian Furminger frequently referred to black people as “monkeys” and the n-word while texting his pals about “white power” and the legality of putting “an animal down,” the documents show. While the names of who he corresponded with are redacted, four are fellow police officers, identified by a source who identified them to the San Francisco Chronicle as Michael Robison, Noel Schwab, Rain Daughtery and Michael Celis. “It makes me sick to my stomach to even have these guys around,” San Francisco police Chief Greg Suhr told the newspaper, though he would not confirm the identities of the officers. But all four were transferred to modified duty, all without … [Read more...] about Four San Francisco police officers investigated for racist, homophobic text messages sent to ex-cop convicted of corruption