San Francisco to discipline firefighter for wearing 'Let's go Brandon' T-shirt



A San Francisco firefighter will be punished after he was pictured wearing a "Let's go Brandon" T-shirt while on duty in apparent violation of Fire Department policy.

Someone on Twitter took a photo of the firefighter and posted it on Saturday, tagging the San Francisco Fire Department and asking, "is this the new official uniform of the SFFD?" The user also tagged San Francisco Mayor London Breed and District 8 supervisor Rafael Mandelman.

The photo shows a firefighter wearing a navy blue T-shirt with the phrase "Let's go Brandon" on the back, which is a coded protest slogan against President Joe Biden. He appears to be standing with two other members of the Fire Department on the corner of Noe and 18th streets in San Francisco.

The phrase became a meme in October 2021 after an NBC sports reporter misheard a crowd chanting "F*** Joe Biden" after 28-year-old NASCAR driver Brandon Brown won his first-ever victory at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. The reporter incorrectly said the crowd was chanting "Let's go, Brandon" to celebrate his win.

Left-wing media has since dubbed "Let's go Brandon" a "right-wing slur" used to denigrate the president.

\u201c@LondonBreed @RafaelMandelman @SFFDPIO is this the new official uniform of the SFFD ? Noe and 18th street just now.\u201d
— David (@David) 1664039404

The Fire Department responded on Twitter, writing, "This is not the official uniform of the SFFD. This will be handled immediately. Thank you for bringing it to our attention."

\u201cThis is not the official uniform of the SFFD. This will be handled immediately. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.\u201d
— SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA) 1664042559

In a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle, a spokesman for the department confirmed the firefighter will face disciplinary action for wearing "a non SSFD T-shirt" while on active duty and said the T-shirt "does not reflect the views and opinions" of the department.

“The Department took immediate action once made aware. The SFFD has followed internal and City policies to handle this incident,” the statement read.

The department did not respond to media questions about what disciplinary actions the employee will face.

This would not be the first time San Francisco officials have taken action in response to angry leftists on social media. In 2020, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott banned rank-and-file police officers from wearing "thin blue line" face masks showing support for law enforcement after photos and videos of the officers circulated online. The police department said at the time that the face masks "may be perceived as divisive or disrespectful." They also appeared to violate a department policy regarding political symbols.

San Francisco Safeway grocery reduces hours due to 'unsustainable level of theft' from store



A Safeway grocery store in San Francisco that previously operated 24 hours per day is now only open from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m., marking yet another consequence of the crime problems plaguing the city.

"Safeway has been proudly serving San Francisco since 1926 and we continue to invest in the community with new and remodeled stores," Safeway told Fox News in a statement on Monday, according to Fox Business. "Recent changes at the Market Street store were made to maintain a safe and welcoming shopping experience for our customers and associates given the increasing amount of theft at the store."

The Safeway news highlights the crime problem in San Francisco.

Larceny theft has risen 11.1% from the beginning of 2021 to Oct. 24 compared to the same span during the previous year, according to data from the San Francisco Police Department.

"As an ongoing effort, we evaluate and adjust our store operations based on a variety of variables that impact our operations," Safeway spokesperson Wendy Gutshall said, according to Hoodline. "We recently modified the Castro Safeway store hours of operation to close at 9:00 p.m. due to an increasing amount of theft at the store."

"We have also made some operational changes to the front end of the store to deter shoplifting," Gutshall noted, according to the outlet.

San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman tweeted: "I am committed to working with @SFPD , @SFDAOffice , and @Safeway to address the unsustainable level of theft at the Castro Safeway and preserve access to one of the last sources of affordable groceries in the area. This is a serious equity issue for residents who rely on Safeway."

I am committed to working with @SFPD, @SFDAOffice, and @Safeway to address the unsustainable level of theft at the… https://t.co/IFIbv0EUF2

— Rafael Mandelman (@RafaelMandelman) 1635795963.0

Last month the Walgreens pharmacy chain announced plans to shut down five San Francisco locations because of problems with crime. Those stores are slated to close this month.

"Due to ongoing organized retail crime, we have made the difficult decision to close five stores across San Francisco," a Walgreens spokesperson told Fox Business via a statement. "Each store will transfer prescriptions to a nearby Walgreens location within a mile radius and we expect to place the stores' team members in other nearby locations."

"Organized retail crime continues to be a challenge facing retailers across San Francisco, and we are not immune to that," the spokesperson noted. "Retail theft across our San Francisco stores has continued to increase in the past few months to five times our chain average. During this time to help combat this issue, we increased our investments in security measures in stores across the city to 46 times our chain average in an effort to provide a safe environment."