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Fong fires back at Dufty
By: Joshua Sabatini
04/22/09 5:00 PM PDT
As the Examiner first reported, Supervisor Bevan Dufty reprimanded Police Chief Heather Fong in a letter Monday for the Police Department’s failure to show up at a March 23 hearing about legislation proponents say would help The City crack down on problem nightclubs. The clubs are being blamed for violence in the Mission District and the North Beach and SOMA neighborhoods.
Dufty fired off the letter after reading a story in The Examiner about a recent shooting outside the Whisper nightclub, located at 535 Florida St. Police warned of repeat violence and requested additional resources, overtime and more officers to patrol the area for upcoming weekend events at the club. The legislation would empower the Entertainment Commission to shut down problem nightclubs expeditiously.
“The Police Department shares your concern about increased violence associated with nightclubs in San Francisco and was pleased that legislation was proposed in early 2008 to help in this area,” Fong wrote in a letter she sent Wednesday to Dufty in response. Fong said police continue to have concerns about a provision in the legislation that would allow The City to issue permits for entertainment venues to remain open from 2 a.m. until 6 a.m. on a one-time basis. Fong said this would strain police resources.
Dufty has scheduled another hearing on the legislation Monday at the Board of Supervisors’ City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee, which he chairs.
Fong said the SFPD will be at that hearing.
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