City Supervisor Joel Engardio spoke to the graduating police cadet class of February 2024
about why we need to change the narrative about police in San Francisco.

Speech Transcript
February 29, 2024

I’m Joel Engardio, the supervisor for the great Sunset district. On behalf of the many Sunset residents who tell me they want more police officers in San Francisco, thank you for your willingness to serve.

I know it’s been tough to recruit new police officers in recent years. 

We have a police staffing crisis because too few young people want to be a police officer anymore.

That’s why we must change the narrative about police in San Francisco. Our officers are diverse and committed to accountability and serving at the highest standard. Our police department is a model of reform and has been praised by the California Department of Justice for already implementing more than 90 percent of needed reforms.

We need to let people know that It is honorable to be a police officer in San Francisco.

We also need to provide the resources and tools required to do effective, proactive police work. We can’t fight 21st Century crime with last century’s tools. 

Today’s San Francisco police officers need to know they are valued and supported.

As a city supervisor I can advocate for the resources you need and I can vote for legislation to help you do your job, when there is a majority on the board to vote with me. 

I can also use my platform to tell your story to the public, to help residents to see the San Francisco police department in a better light — and hopefully inspire more young people to become police officers.

That’s why my supervisor newsletter regularly features the real life stories of police officers serving the Sunset at Taraval station.

This month, the headline was “Real Life Superheroes: The Undercover Cops Who Fight Crime in the Sunset.”

I introduced readers to the officers who stay up all night on stakeouts to arrest the Sunset’s most prolific burglars. I couldn’t show the officer’s faces, but we could hear their voices.

Sgt. Paul Khmarskiy, Officer Amir Mahmoud, and Officer Andy Kavanagh talked about how they get the job done despite many challenges.

Here’s what Sgt. Khmarsky said: “We take crime personally. There’s nothing better than looking someone in the eye and telling them, ‘We found your stuff.’”

One of the most inspiring police officer profiles in my newsletter was Officer Drewkai Butler. He was only 7 years old when his family fled a bloody coup in Liberia and escaped to San Francisco. 

He eventually went to UC Berkeley and had a career in tech. But Officer Butler had another calling. He left his tech job to become a police officer — at age 43.

Officer Butler showed that a mid-career switch to police work is possible. For him, policing provided the meaning and impact he was looking for in a new direction in life.

“Helping is at the heart of policing,” Officer Butler says. “And not everything is a crisis. I've carried groceries, pushed people uphill in their wheelchair. There are so many ways people need help, and when you're out there, you have the ability to affect in a positive direction every life you run into.”

Of course, police work can be tough and even dangerous. Yet Officer Butler calls it a “people-relations job.”

How so? Officer Butler says: “You’re learning how to talk with folks, figuring out what's the quickest way to connect with someone so they will feel heard. If somebody hates your guts but feels you've heard what they want to express, it changes them inside.”

I also profiled Officer Nate Lim, who said his policing philosophy is to “never stop learning and growing.”

He said he is working to change the negative perceptions about law enforcement. He wants to help San Franciscans understand what police officers do.

Officer Lim says: “I look for ways to improve myself and become a better and smarter police officer.”

Officer Lim says policing can be challenging — especially for new officers. That’s why he pays special attention to supporting his crew.

He also appreciates when the public supports their work. 

“The thank yous we get definitely boost morale and remind us why we are here and do what we do,” he says.

And listen carefully to what Officer Lim says next. It is a very important message:

“Being a police officer is still a noble profession.”

I will leave you with one more story about a police officer at Taraval station.

Growing up in San Francisco, Officer Jeff Chen remembers police officers visiting his kindergarten class to explain how they help people. Officer Chen decided that’s what he wanted to do.

He studied criminal justice at San Francisco State and entered the police academy in 2018. 

He knows he made the right career choice. What’s some advice?

“You have to be able to handle stress well,” Officer Chen says. “And it’s important to have thick skin. You can’t let it get to you when people yell at you. This career is what you make of it and it can be very fun and rewarding. It can also be very stressful and exhausting. So a good balance is needed to juggle it all and not burn out.”

Officer Chen relies on good humor to offset the more stressful parts of the job.

“We get some pretty crazy and funny calls sometimes,” he says. “Like when someone said their roommate had thrown out their dinner.”

Officer Chen finds most people supportive and friendly.

“Little kids wave to us. Residents talk with us and bring things to our attention,” he says. “Community support and understanding can go a long way.”

Officer Chen has these final words:

“I truly enjoy this career,” he says. “I definitely feel like I have helped some people along the way and hope to continue to try to be the change that I want to see.”

Now it is your turn, graduating class, to be the change you want to see. Thank you for stepping up. Know that you are supported. Know that you have entered a noble service as a San Francisco police officer.