From todays Examiner (full article)
SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) – A dozen people accused of preying upon San Francisco’s poorest residents were arrested in two stings in the Tenderloin and Market Street areas.
On Friday and Monday, officers in The City’s robbery abatement team went undercover in the neighborhoods in an effort to catch people who commit violence against the homeless, San Francisco police Sgt. Neville Gittens said.
“These are crimes of opportunity through force and fear, which makes these operations dangerous for the officers posing as potential victims,” Gittens said. “Sometimes they’ll hit the officer, punch him or kick him. This is what goes on with these robberies.”
Friday afternoon’s sting netted the arrests of six men on Sixth and Seventh streets within one block of Market Street, while five men and one woman were arrested Monday in the vicinity of Jones and Leavenworth streets and Golden Gate Avenue.