GLIDE’s Coffee with a Cop event wasn’t just about free coffee and pastries – it was about community. Nearly 40 people packed GLIDE’s Freedom Hall for a chance to speak with the new SFPD Tenderloin station captain, Matt Sullivan, and other SFPD officers this past Thursday, October 2.
“You can say hello, you can voice your concerns,” said GLIDE’s Senior Director of Public Affairs, Francesca-Delgado Jones, kicking off the event. “This is a safe space.”
The crowd represented a wide range of Tenderloin stakeholders: residents (both housed and unhoused), local workers, community groups, and of course, the police. In addition to new station captain Matt Sullivan, nearly fifteen other SFPD officers from the Tenderloin station showed up to engage with the community. Attendees and police milled about, speaking 1:1 or in small groups.
Most attendees were motivated by the desire to see the Tenderloin improve. Constituents brought up issues like gun violence, drug use, lives lost, and the need to establish better working relationships between police and community groups on the ground.
“Everything we do is for the community. But sometimes there are issues we’re not equipped to deal with, and so we have to call in law enforcement,” remarked Paris McBride, the Director of Clean Operations at the Tenderloin Community Benefit District. The Clean Operations Team walks around the Tenderloin picking up trash, cleaning graffiti, and power-washing sidewalks. “I came here today to spread the word about what we’re doing, so that when cops see us in the street in our blue vests, they know who we are.”
“This was awesome, just to bring the community together. There should be more events like this,” remarked a congregant from Glide Memorial Church, who came to the event to voice his concerns about nighttime safety in the Tenderloin. “We need everyone to be involved. It’s not just going to be the police, because they can’t do everything.”
Maurice Hull, a longtime San Francisco resident, appreciated the opportunity to voice his concerns to the police. “I grew up in the Tenderloin back in the 80s. This is my home. I’ve seen it change a lot over the years. I’m here to see what direction things might be moving in with this new captain and see if I can play a role.” His main concern is drug use in the neighborhood. “The drugs today are different. In the 80s, we had homeless people and we had crime, but we didn’t have the level of drugs that we have today.”
For Captain Matt Sullivan, the event was a chance to help people feel heard. It was also a chance to deepen important relationships between the police and community groups like GLIDE that are working to protect and uplift residents of the Tenderloin. “We can’t do this alone,” Sullivan remarked. “We need to work together as a community.”
While police and community priorities can sometimes diverge, there was one core theme that united all groups present: better safety in the Tenderloin.
“I’ve been talking to people here in the Tenderloin, and they don’t feel safe. People need to be able to take the bus or go to local businesses,” Sullivan said.
Police and community organizations like GLIDE all have a role to play in prioritizing safety for Tenderloin residents.
We know that community safety means different things to different people. For example, GLIDE is a frequent critic of encampment sweeps, because the safety of homeless people is always in our thoughts first and foremost. To balance the safety needs of varying people, open and friendly dialogue is so helpful.
At GLIDE, community safety includes keeping people fed, providing health empowerment and access, and making sure families have access to free childcare and after school services. Cleaning up the streets doesn’t mean sweeping people aside – it means inviting people in. Something as simple as having coffee together can make our neighborhood safer, because it opens the door to mutual understanding.
A special thanks to Captain Matt Sullivan and the SFPD for this opportunity to create further neighborhood engagement. We’re looking forward to continuing these meaningful conversations.
