See, for example, Chesa Boudin in San Francisco or Pamela Price in Oakland.

Both of whom went after police misconduct and were eventually ousted in recall campaigns funded by those same police officers. There's a reason that the main group behind the Boudin recall was based in Novato, and it's not because San Francisco annexed parts of Marin County.

Let's not forget either that SFPD staged a soft strike until Boudin was recalled — for instance the cops that stood by and watched as a marijuana dispensary was robbed in 2021. It's more than a bit disingenuous to suggest that the police aren't responsible for their own inaction. OPD's tried similar behavior, but they've been under federal receivership for a few decades now so that's expected.

Boudin's successor, Brooke Jenkins, famously had her initial transition meetings run by Breed's staffers. That's pretty much the opposite of stamping out corruption.

Not surprised that this is getting downvoted, though I am disappointed especially given the OP's use of the phrase "unparalleled destruction" which seems beyond hyperbole.

I suspect it's that a lot of the HN users who are drawn to stories about San Francisco are in fact quite young and/or new to town. We've had progressive district attorneys before. We've had law and order mayors and progressive mayors. I wouldn't use the word progressive but we've had police chiefs that were more reform oriented. And we've survived just fine.

Folks got up in arms over Boudin trying to get his father out of jail but largely remained mum on Breed twisting arms (including Jenkins') to get her brother out of jail. Price got pilloried for only pursuing a maximum sentence of a hundred odd years in a murder trial.

There's a lot of selective outrage, and yeah it's frustrating (but not surprising on HN).

I'm in NYC and it's not dissimilar here. Constant friction between the police and anybody who wants any reform, in any position of gov't (judicial, legislative or executive) and completely over-the-top rhetoric about how the city is in shambles or is being destroyed, in a way that is incredibly divorced from reality.

I think these kinds of posters are probably new to the city and young, but also probably don't engage with culture much, and seem to spend a lot of time on social media.