| The relationship between the media and law enforcement is often adversarial. Reporters appear to seek the sensational elements of a crime story, often to the detriment of the police, and officers tend to be uncooperative with journalists they seem to instinctively mistrust. Not so with “The Badge,” a new series presented by a San Francisco Chronicle reporter/photographer team embedded with the SFPD. Kudos to the Chronicle for pursuing this series and to the officers who willingly put themselves in the media spotlight in the hopes of helping civilians develop a better understanding of life behind the badge. You’re putting a human face on “the police,” which will benefit us all.
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By John Koopman
The San Francisco Chronicle
SAN FRANCISCO — It’s the day after Thanksgiving, the biggest shopping day of the year. Thousands of people from around the world descend on Union Square, along with pickpockets and shoplifters. And then there are the animal-rights protesters, war protesters and people protesting against too much shopping.
It’s often a volatile mix, ripe for a fight or some kind of civil disobedience. Someone wearing fur is probably going to get splattered with paint.
Officer Carl Payne plants his burly self in the middle of Union Square and peers through his dark sunglasses. Waiting for a call, or the telltale signs of scuffling, running or trouble.
A woman approaches wearing a sweater with a duck on it. She has a problem.
“Can you tell me which cable car takes me to Chinatown?” she asks softly.
“Well, you can get on here and take the car over Nob Hill and get off in Chinatown, or you can just walk over to Grant and turn left, and it will take you right to the entrance of Chinatown,” Payne says. “Just cut through the square and walk one block.”
“Thank you, officer,” she says.
“You’re very welcome,” Payne replies. “Have a nice day.”
That was not the toughest problem Payne and his partner for the day, Noel DeLeon, had to contend with. That happened when a young couple approached to ask directions to a coffee shop in an alley in Hayes Valley. Neither officer knew the area well enough to help out.
Payne and DeLeon park themselves in the middle of Union Square and wait. They chat with each other and other cops who stop by to see what’s going on.
The group In Defense of Animals has an anti-fur display set up near the Christmas tree, and others hand out flyers in front of Neiman Marcus, the store they detest because fur is sold there. The protesters there are separated from the store by a phalanx of uniformed officers. All is calm, other than the fact that pedestrian traffic gets jammed up by the protesters and their signs.
Over it all, sergeants and lieutenants watch from a conference room inside the Westin St. Francis hotel on Powell Street. That’s where they keep the command center.
DeLeon doesn’t normally work in this neighborhood; he’s usually on bike patrol at Fisherman’s Wharf. But on days like these, the department drafts officers from all over to help out in the difficult areas.
Payne doesn’t mind this work. He’s an ambassador of the city and has been for many decades.
Payne’s claim to fame came in his first career as a Muni driver who worked on the cable car lines. He was the city’s champion cable-car bell-ringer, taking that title a record 10 times. To top is all off, he won a competition among bell-ringing champs, a sort of World Series of bell-ringing. He’s got a diamond-encrusted ring with a cable-car design to prove it.
Payne used to travel around the world as the city’s ambassador, and traveled with the 49ers to bring his bell-ringing skills to the Super Bowl.
After 29 years with Muni, Payne retired. Friends in the Police Department, noting his knack for spotting and grabbing pickpockets, urged him to join the force. He applied and was accepted, but he initially wasn’t allowed into the academy because the city said he was too old.
Payne sued, as did others. Eventually, San Francisco was forced to abandon its age requirement, and Payne found himself as a 50-year-old recruit.
That was 17 years ago. Like most officers, he moved around the department here and there until landing at Central Station. Five or six years ago, one of the Union Square beat cops retired, and Payne was asked if he wanted the assignment.
“It was perfect for me, because I’ve been dealing with tourists for years,” he said. “I like mingling and talking with people.
He said he likes to talk to people from other places, and help them if he can.
“I don’t know why,” he says. “I guess I just want to treat people the way I would hope to be treated if I were in their city. I love this place, and I want other people to love it, too.”
And so the whole day goes like that: Payne and DeLeon giving directions and offering advice. What’s the best way to get to Fisherman’s Wharf, where are coats for the needy collected, how does one get on the double-decker tour bus. The protesters don’t do anything illegal, so there are no problems, no arrests there.
Just another remarkably sunny and beautiful November day in San Francisco.
People are enjoying the day, even if it doesn’t feel very Christmassy. Everyone is waiting for the mayor to light the big tree in the middle of the square. But Christmas in San Francisco comes early this year. At exactly 2:37 p.m., the loudspeakers in the square came to life with a Christmas recording.
It’s “Frosty the Snowman” and not a flake in sight.
Copyright 2007 San Francisco Chronicle