Haight Street Drunks Are Getting Drunker

No more room for drunks

There is a new social problem that's plaguing the Haight and -- believe it or not -- it's far worse than sitting or lying on city sidewalks.

Police are reporting a more-than-usual amount of drunks roving the Haight District. And it's not just that there are more inebriates, it's that the regular drunks are getting drunker, said Captain Denis O'Leary.

"It's infiltrated with drunks," O'Leary said. "We aren't making dope arrests out there, it's all drinking in public and it's gotten worse in the last two weeks."

All of this makes for a much more hostile and "militant" environment in the Haight District, where two weeks ago a man was shot in the back after an argument with a store clerk over his dog, Gizmo. And last weekend, police arrested six people for drunk and disorderly conduct.

The drinking problem is ticking off neighbors and cops who say they can't deal with boozing issues alone. So they are asking all Haight District businesses with a liquor license to please stop selling alcohol to the neighborhood drunks.

To be sure, O'Leary has his regular patrols keeping watch, and  plain clothes officers will conduct their own sting operations to ensure that liquor stores and bars aren't contributing to the problem.

"I am putting a lot more officers in Golden Gate Park to deal with the community complaints," O'Leary told SF Weekly. "We are trying to weed out the troublemakers."

And, for a change, he isn't referring to people who are just sitting on a sidewalk.

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