Cmdr. Mikail Ali, the former top transit police officer in San Francisco, justified spending anti-terror funding on fare evaders because “Fare evasion is the nexus by which we make those initial contacts [with criminals]” and cracking down on it lets them find terrorists.
In essence, terrorists could be more likely to be fare cheats.
“In a nutshell, the priority is safety on Muni, safety on our coaches, safety in our stations,” Ali said. “How do we accomplish that? We are proactive.”
The Muni Task Force is a group of seven police officers and one sergeant, operating on overtime. It was formed to prevent terrorism and crime on Muni buses. The SFMTA pays for the unit through a $1.7 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.
Former Muni top cop says fare-evasion enforcement is in line with anti-terrorism efforts [Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez/SF Examiner]
(via JWZ)