SAN FRANCISCO, June 21 (UPI) -- The first Asian-American officer to serve as San Francisco's police chief announced his intention to retire this summer and move on to a new post as the head of security at Oakland International Airport.
Fred Lau, 52, will step down July 13 after 31 years on the force and will likely be named to the Oakland job by the federal Transportation Security Administration, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Lau had sought a similar post at San Francisco International Airport as the federal government takes over security responsibilities in the wake of Sept. 11.
Mayor Willie Brown said he was sorry to see Lau go and had not thought of a permanent replacement.
"I don't have any complaint from any citizen of this city about the conduct of the Police Department in terms of its relationships with the folks of this city," Brown said. "I don't have any complaints from people of this city about feeling anything other than safer."
Lau became chief in 1996 and won high praise for boosting neighborhood patrols and community policing programs. He came under a cloud recently, however, when crime statistics revealed San Francisco ranked last among large cities in solving violent crimes.
The Chronicle published an in-depth look at the SFPD last month that revealed that more than half of the robberies and assaults reported in the city were barely investigated at all.
"The only regret that Chief Lau may have is that he wouldn't be there to address the issues that were brought up by The Chronicle articles in his tenure," lamented Sgt. Reno Rapagnani, the chief's legal adviser. "He really, really did want to clean it up."
Assistant Chief Earl Sanders, a one-time beat cop and homicide inspector, will assume Lau's office on an interim basis.
