Editor:
The The Disappearing Police Ambassadors: Engardio’s Broken Promise to the Sunset
On Supervisor Joel Engardio’s anti-recall website, he lists a number of accomplishments. Second on the list is the claim that he brought more police protection to the Sunset District. Linked to that claim is a 2023 article he wrote titled “Retired Officers Are Welcome Sight in Sunset During Police Shortage.”
Yet today, we are still facing a police shortage. In fact, I have been informed that the retired police ambassadors he once touted are now largely gone from the Sunset, with many reassigned to other parts of the City.
To illustrate:
- In May 2023, police ambassadors patrolled our Outer Sunset streets for a total of 21 days.
- By April 2024, coverage dropped further to just 12 days.
- In December 2024, they were present only 14 days.
- And most recently, in April 2025, due to staffing cuts, police ambassadors were on patrol for only three days.
While I cannot independently verify these figures, my source is credible – and to date, there’s been no public correction or acknowledgment from Supervisor Engardio.
Under the heading “Where’s Joel Engardio?” one might reasonably ask: Why hasn’t he spoken up or acted to reverse the disappearance of the very police ambassadors he once took credit for providing? If Supervisor Engardio has an explanation or additional facts to add, he owes it to his constituents to share them.
Instead, Engardio has been busy celebrating with a small group of Upper Great Highway closure advocates – a slap in the face to the majority of Sunset residents whose safety has been compromised under his watch. While he continues to take credit for supposedly increasing police staffing at our local station, he has failed to maintain that staffing.
When will this end?
When we have a new supervisor.
Stephen J. Gorski, Esq.
D4 Resident/Voter
Categories: letter to the editor
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 
Stephen:
Well said and true! Also, it should be noted that the total amount of police officers (not ambassadors) has increased in the Sunset District since Joel was elected by…you guessed it…zero…that number zero reflects the type of advocacy that Joel has shown for the working class residents of the Sunset District! RECALL
Sincerely,
Marty Murphy
sfpoliticshub.com
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Back when Joel was campaigning for our votes and actually asking potential supporters what we felt we needed as D4 residents, police protection was a hot-button issue. I passed on to him information I had received directly from the higher-ups at the Taraval Station that at least one more police car was essential for the police response to be more effective. I don’t see where Joel has advocated for that, but he’s very proud of his accomplishments in creating a 4th of July annual parade and a community marching band. In my opinion, it is unlikely those two items were mentioned to him by any resident that responded to his inquiry regarding what we needed in D4 that our new Supervisor could help us to acquire. His representation of D4 is lacking about so many important issues. His claim that the effort behind his recall “is about just one issue” is just one more blatant misrepresentation of the facts.
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Interestingly, a friend and I met some police ambassadors up in what is probably the safest neighborhood in the city – West Portal – a few of months ago. That’s how we learned that Joel completely fabricated his statement about creating the program to hire retired police to patrol the Sunset. The ambassadors have been around for years, just not in the Sunset. I honestly think Engardio can’t help himself. Truth could be staring him right in the face, and he would still lie about it. How unfortunate for us. But now is the time to change that! We need a supervisor who knows truth from lies, and that ain’t Engardio. It’s time to recall!
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