Chase DiFeliciantonio
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco police plan to beef up patrols in Union Square in the aftermath of the shooting of 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall during an attempted robbery.
The increased deployment was already planned for the end-of-year holiday shopping season, but Police Chief Bill Scott said Saturday that plans will accelerate.
“Usually when things like this happen, people get anxiety and we want to make sure that the public knows that we are there for them,” Scott said during a news conference Saturday night with San Francisco Mayor Breed and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.
Breed, also speaking at the news conference in front of San Francisco General Hospital, where Pearsall and his suspected assailant, who was also shot during the scuffle, were admitted, said the incident is a “setback for Union Square.”
A police department spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about when that increased deployment will take place and how many officers will be deployed and where.
The area has long been home to high-end boutiques such as Neiman Marcus and Yves Saint Laurent. But some retailers have closed up after videos that went viral during the pandemic showing masked people running into shops, smashing glass and display cases, and absconding with large amounts of valuables.
San Francisco’s relatively low return-to-office rates have also affected retailers in and around the downtown area.
The police department has deployed an all-terrain vehicle to Union Square to more easily catch shoplifters.
The department also received permission from voters to expand its use of license plate readers and drone cameras to pursue suspects in the event of what they believe to be a felony or violent misdemeanor.
Overall reported crime in the Financial District and South Beach area, which includes Union Square, declined 40% from the first four months of 2023 to the first four months of 2024, a May report from the Chronicle found.
The Pearsall shooting occurred near the intersection of Geary Street and Grant Avenue, about a block from Union Square. The reason the assailant approached Pearsall is not yet known.
While San Francisco has a low violent crime rate, its property crime rates are high.
The police department’s presence in Union Square includes deploying a mobile command unit to the area for visibility, parking patrol cars throughout and deploying a relatively high number of uniformed officers there.
Shreve & Co. Jewelers shuttered its longtime location in the area this year, as did a North Face store.
Union Square anchor tenant Macy’s has said it will exit its department store on the square, and city leaders have been in talks with the company over its planned departure.
Breed acknowledged Saturday night that the shooting of the promising young sports star will case a shadow.
Breed said “the data goes out the window sometimes when something happens like this happens, and my hope is we can demonstrate this is an isolated incident, one where our officers acted quickly and the things that we put into place led to an arrest and will lead to accountability.”
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