Police Officer Profile: A Dream of Becoming a San Francisco Police Officer Comes True

Officer Alex Pyi Phyo

When Alex Pyi Phyo became one of the newest police officers at the Sunset’s Taraval station at age 29, it was the result of a 20-year journey to get there.

Alex was nine when he immigrated from Myanmar to the Bay Area with his parents and little brother. Alex jokes that he came from a place “where there’s a civil war every Sunday.” But it’s a joke underpinned by grim reality. Coming from a militaristic state like Myanmar made Alex all the more appreciative of America’s democracy. 

He also found police officers here to be helpful and friendly. 

Alex’s first encounter with American police officers was at the Starbucks he worked at as a teenager in Daly City. They talked with Alex about his interests in a law enforcement career and even invited him on ride-alongs.

But policing had to wait, because Alex wasn’t able to find a police department to sponsor him at a police academy. Instead, he moved toward his law enforcement goal by working security at San Francisco’s Ferry Building. He also joined the Coast Guard Reserves, where he served for six years.

From the Coast Guard to SFPD
As a Coast Guard maritime enforcement specialist, Alex would board ships anchored in San Francisco Bay or motor out to the 12-mile limit to inspect container ships and tankers for contraband. Boarding a big ocean-going ship in sometimes rough seas meant a dizzying climb up the towering side of the ship to check crew lists and passports.

“Going down was really scary,” Alex recalls.

Later, Alex transferred to the Coast Guard’s port security unit at San Francisco International Airport, also searching for contraband.

But getting a police department job continued to prove elusive.

“It took me five years of applying,” Alex says.

Meanwhile, he picked up an associate’s degree at Skyline College and was hired as a police officer in South San Francisco. He served there for three years before finally getting his dream job with the San Francisco Police Department.

Alex has been an officer at the Taraval station for nine months and has almost completed his one-year probationary period.

While Alex had to wait until he was 25 before getting his first police department job, he says there is a silver lining that comes with being older and more mature.

“Twenty-one-year-old Alex and 25-year-old Alex are two different people. At 21, you act capriciously, with emotion, and you lack situational awareness and social etiquette,” he says. “Twenty-five year-old Alex knows not to argue with a fool. If you do, then there are two fools.”

San Francisco police officers must be at least 25 and have a bachelor's degree. Prospective officers spend nine months at the police academy, three months of field training, and another year of probation.

A life of overtime
San Francisco has a severe shortage of officers. When it was fully staffed before the pandemic, the Taraval station had nearly 120 officers. Now it has about 55.

To compensate for the shortage, officers are assigned to work overtime. The overtime keeps the department working as smoothly as possible, but the shortage of personnel takes its toll. For example, some of the station’s six car-patrol sectors can not always be staffed, according to senior officers.

Alex says the extra work that is required can leave officers feeling burned out. But Alex also says he is impressed at how Captain Hoo at Taraval station makes the best of the situation and inspires officers to do their best.

“Taraval is a well oiled machine,” Alex says. “Everyone gets their job done.”

Engaging with the community
Alex is a patrol officer on the overnight swing shift, but eventually he hopes to move from patrolling to a speciality such as the detective unit or the swat team.

For now, he knows patrol is where he needs to be.

“I love being on patrol,” Alex says. “It's the bread and butter of police work. It’s where you learn things, where you engage with the community, where you find out what’s going on in the city.”

The information that patrol officers pick up in the community is essential for the investigations unit to do their work. Alex enjoys the camaraderie between patrol and investigative officers. 

“Nowhere else can you find the camaraderie I find here at the Taraval station,” Alex says.

A bright future
Alex says he looks forward to a long future at SFPD.

“I'm still young and I've got time to know this agency better before trying for a specialty, like the SWAT team,” Alex says. “I just got to the SFPD and there are more senior guys who have put in the time, so I’m willing to wait for my turn to prove myself.”

Meanwhile, Alex has the perfect antidote to the stress of police work. When he’s not on duty he surfs, target shoots, and indulges in his hobby since childhood – playing video games.

“I’m almost 30 and I’m still playing video games – I’m such a nerd,” he laughs. “It's an escape. I love magic, Dungeons and Dragons. It’s very immersive. Give me a game about space exploration. I can't actually go thousands of light years away and see the Pillars of Creation – but with games I can travel anywhere.” 

Reported and written by volunteer community journalist Tom Colin. We encourage residents with journalism experience, retired journalists, and student journalists in high school and college to volunteer as writers for Supervisor Engardio’s newsletter. Interested? Apply here. Do you know a story you would like to see featured in the newsletter? Tell us about it here.