Chinatown Squad of the San Francisco Police Department posing with sledge hammers and axes in front of August Pistolesi’s grocery store at 752 Washington Street – 1895
Predecessor to the Narcotics Squad’s and DEA
In this 100+ year Drug War, you look at the dehumanizing tactics used by law enforcement against its own people and you wonder where they learned it from…
Preprohibition, San Francisco formed the Chinatown squads in the 1880’s which replaced the “Pick-Handle Brigade” that had formed following the San Francisco riot of 1877.
The Chinatown Squad was a police force that combated opium dens, gambling halls, brothels, etc in San Francisco’s Chinatown that was fueled by racism. This Chinatown Squad stands to this day as the model for narcotic’s squad’s world wide…
“A Joss Jailed
The Chinatown Squad breaks up a Highblinders headquarters
The chinatown police squad under Sergeant Gillen made a raid last night on the headquarters of the Choy Leong Tong, a highbinders society, at 822 Clay street. For some time past Sergeant Gillen has noticed that the society has been meeting and holding rather lively sessions. The members were unusually devoted in their worship of the great god, Guon Ginn, who is a sort of Mongolian Jove among the highbinders. They also made night hideous with strains of earsplitting music.
From past experience the sergeant knew that when one of the several societies begins to inaugurate “ghost dances” the others follow suit. Then the trouble between the highbinders begins. So he concluded that the best thing to do would be to nip the proceedings in the bud.
When the raiders went into the place they found thirteen ugly looking highbinders seated around their tinsel-bedecked god. They were all searched for weapons, but the wily heathens did not have any. They were thrown out of their den, and the mighty joss, the highbinder mottoes on the walls and the other paraphernalia were taken to the old City Hall. If the members of the society want to open new headquarters they will have to buy a complete outfit, a joss included.
A descent was also made by the squad upon the rooms of the Bo Sin Sare Society at 724 Jackson street, but no one was found there, as the news of the first raid had evidently been carried down ahead of the officers.”
– San Francisco Call, January 19, 1895
San Francisco Call, January 19, 1895
Chinatown Squad of the San Francisco Police Department – 1890’s
“I Learned It By Watching You” Anti-Drug PSA