SF City Attorney Files Motion To Remove 34 From Western Addition Gang Injunction
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- City Attorney Dennis Herrera Tuesday announced that on Monday he filed a motion in San Francisco Superior Court to request the removal of 34 people from a civil gang injunction in the city's Western Addition neighborhood.
The Western Addition gang injunction was first implemented in 2007 and targeted a total of 42 people, all members of the Chopper City, Eddy Rock and Knock Out Posse gangs, by prohibiting identified members from conducting gang-related activity in the neighborhood.
According to the city attorney's office, 11 years after the Western Addition injunction was put in place, 30 of the alleged gang members have stopped engaging in criminal gang activity and four have died, while eight people remain on the list. Additionally, the Knock Out Posse gang has
ceased to exist altogether.
The motion filed by Herrera Monday is asking the court to update the injunction to reflect the changes that have taken place since 2007.
"I'm glad we are at this point today," Herrera said in a statement. "I couldn't be more pleased that many of those who we had to take court action against a decade ago are no longer part of violent street gangs.
Our injunctions are not a panacea for gang violence, but they are a key part of the solution.
When we took this action in 2007, the best possible outcome was for residents to be safe in their neighborhoods and for these young men to get their lives in order," Herrera said.
In addition to removing the 34 people from the Western Addition injunction, the city attorney's office is also seeking to modify three other gang injunctions that cover the Bayview-Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley, and Mission neighborhoods.
The injunctions were put in place between 2006 and 2010 in order to target members of seven street gangs in the city.
The updates to the injunctions are part of both an internal review and an evaluation requested by elected officials, according to Herrera's office.
The injunctions were intended to stop identified gang members from participating in crimes such as trespassing, intimidation, graffiti, vandalism, gang recruitment, weapons violations and drug violations.
According to the city attorney's office, the injunctions are not stay-away orders and do not restrict identified gang members from living, working or going to school. Additionally, a person listed in a civil gang injunction can petition the city to be removed from the injunction.
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