Democratic San Francisco Mayor London Breed scolded a left-wing city official Tuesday after he criticized her for arresting drug users.
Breed has cracked down on open drug activity in her city, announcing that 25 people were arrested last week for public intoxication, the San Francisco Standard reported. Police data show 176 individuals have been arrested for drug offenses in the past month, and the city’s sheriff is also taking action on public drug use.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Dean Preston accused the mayor of engaging in “racism” against the “black, brown and indigenous communities” by taking a harsher stance on drug use.
“Here we go, another white man who’s talking about black and brown people as if you’re the savior of those people and you speak for them,” Breed responded. “I have a sister that I lost to a drug overdose in the city. I have friends and family members who have been lost in the Tenderloin with no aggressive action, no changes to policies. Have you ever spent time talking to any of those same black and brown people who are addicted to drugs on our streets in San Francisco to understand their challenges and what they need, and what we need to do as a city to turn their lives around?”
“That is the focus of what I plan to do regardless of what you read or what you see in a particular report, which is a overall view of what’s happening,” Breed continued. “The fact is, it’s not just services. It’s also force. You can quote all these statistics all you want, but at the end of the day, you’ve never lived in it. You’ve never experienced it. You don’t know what most of these people and their family members are dealing with.” (RELATED: ‘Destroyed Our City’: Mayor London Breed Calls ‘Bullsh*t’ On Left-Wing Policies Like Defunding Police In Fight Against Rampant Crime)
WATCH: SF Mayor @LondonBreed exchanged fiery words with Tenderloin Supe @DeanPreston at Tuesday’s @sfbos meeting as she defended the city’s arrests of drug users.
“Here we go, another white man talking about Black and brown people as if you’re the savior,” Breed said. (1/4) pic.twitter.com/itqZe4jqJK
— The San Francisco Standard (@sfstandard) June 14, 2023
Preston said he has spoken to many “impacted” people and accused Breed of catering to “business interests” who want to “arrest and incarcerate” drug users. He also attempted to persuade the mayor to implement wellness hubs to supervise drug users and provide treatment.
Breed’s budget proposal includes funding for three wellness hubs but stipulates that any “possible inclusion of safe consumption would be funded by private entities,” the Standard reported. One hub, the Tenderloin Linkage Center, shut down in December, a development Preston blamed for an increase in overdoses.
More than 300 overdoses were reversed in an 11-month period at the center, but it received criticism for connecting very few patients with treatment, the outlet reported.