'Operation Safe Muni' Nabs Its First Bus-Riding Felon

You may get a tap on your shoulder if you attempt this in the future...

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While this operation was inspired by a cavalcade of reports of theft and violence on Muni -- most notably the apparently random stabbing of 11-year-old Hatim Mansori on the 49. "Operation Safe Muni" quickly grew beyond the blueprint drawn up by Lieutenant Jason Cherniss. Instead of just undercover cops, uniformed officers have starting riding the aforementioned bus lines. And instead of a one-off or occasional enforcement, the cops will saturate Muni at least once a week.

And yet, in the first month and change of the program's existence, miscreants did not rob old ladies, wave around firearms, or engage in wild battle royale brawls in the presence of Operation Safe Muni's officers. The operating premise of the program is that those with the intent of committing crimes on Muni seldom bother to pay the fare. So officers spot fare-jumpers, give them a little time to do worse, and then bust the miscreant for fare evasion. And, mostly, that's what officers have been doing -- busting fare evaders, with some graffiti artists thrown in for good measure.

So Cherniss was delighted when, last week, Operation Safe Muni netted its first felon.

On Thursday, a pair of officers noticed a man enter a bus and not pay the fare. So far, so good. The passenger didn't proceed to light the bus on fire or steal the driver's jacket, so he was taken outside to be cited for fare evasion. At that point, the officers discovered the fare-evader was a fugitive wanted for a $30,000 felony narcotics warrant.

Cherniss' officers -- even the undercover ones -- have reported that their presence has often been noted on the buses. But the program organizer doesn't see that as a bad thing.

"We've created a hard target," he says. "We've sent the message to people who would see Muni and riders of Muni as soft targets and victims of opportunity that Muni is not that soft a target anymore. You saw us this time, but will you see us next time? That next stop might be the ones where our cops get on the bus."

Photo   |   Plug1