Bayview Police Station Gets New Leadership

Captain Michael Koniaris didn’t grow up wanting to be a police officer. 

“My father discouraged it for a long time,” he said. 

The elder Koniaris — George, affectionately known as “Moose” to his fellow officers and the football teams he coached during his off hours — served 41 years with the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD). 

“He didn’t want his children to have to deal with the kind of things that he was dealing with,” Koniaris said. 

But while pursuing his degree in Communication Studies at Sonoma State University, Koniaris grew fascinated with the stories his father shared about his work in vice. 

“And I just thought it sounded really fun.”

Koniaris began as a patrol officer on April 6, 1998, just five days, and 30 years, from April 1, 1968, the day his father started. He was originally assigned a recycled badge number, but when Moose passed away of a heart attack, while still serving as a police officer, the younger Koniaris asked for and received his dad’s badge number, which he still wears today.

He trained at Ingleside and did his probationary period – one year required by Civil Service Commission Code Rule 217 before a person can officially be appointed as a full-time officer – at Southern Station. In 2000, he was assigned to Tenderloin Station where he worked for nearly 18 years in various capacities, including investigator and patrol supervisor.

He was promoted to Sergeant in 2008, Lieutenant in 2018, and on May 11, 2024, advanced to Captain and was assigned the top spot at Bayview Station, located at 201 Williams Avenue, which is responsible for an area that includes Dogpatch and Potrero Hill.

His 26 years with SFPD have been filled with challenges, none so much as October 15, 2015, when construction workers near Eighth and Market flagged him down to report that a man was throwing bottles into traffic and wouldn’t stop. As Koniaris approached, the man—later identified as 27-year-old Herbert Benitez—rushed at his partner, Sergeant Joseph McCloskey, knocked him to the ground and got control of his gun.

What happened next is something he said he doesn’t talk about that much.

As Koniaris tried to pull Benitez away, McCloskey saw the gun turn toward his face and shouted for his partner to shoot him. Koniaris did. Benitez died at the scene.

“That’s the worst day of my life as a police officer,” he said, his voice thick with emotion, “and I would never wish that on anybody. I saved my best friend’s life, which was a good part of the situation. But I was raised Catholic and to have to live with the fact that I was the reason somebody’s life was taken away, it’s difficult.”

For his actions, the department awarded Koniaris a Gold Medal of Valor and a Purple Heart; both he and his partner were injured in the struggle. 

“I would rather have gotten the medal for running into a fire and saving ten people. But I didn’t make the choice to have to use the force that I used. The other person did. So that’s something that helps me deal with it,” he said.

The biggest challenge Koniaris faces in his new position is understaffing, something he told a group of San Franciscans who gathered last summer at the Southeast Community Center for a special town hall with City Attorney David Chiu. Koniaris stressed that the top priority for Bayview officers is answering 911 calls. Because the station now has 78 officers, almost half the previous roster of 140, non-emergency issues sometimes fall through the cracks.

Koniaris thinks the staffing decline is due to a combination of fewer people joining the force and more officers opting for early retirement. 

“When I first came in, most people would retire at 55 after serving a full 30 years. But now people are turning 50 and moving to Idaho, you know.”

Although the same thought sometimes crosses his mind – he’ll be 55 next year – Koniaris said he’s excited when he sees young officers work with the community. 

“We took this job to make a difference,” he said. “And I know there are some who think people join for the wrong reasons, but I’ve never seen that. I know it exists. But in my experience, the officers I’ve worked with have just really wanted to get out there and help people.”

For Koniaris, not being able to do that is the worst part of the job. 

“Like an RV that somebody wants moved and you have to give the owner 72 hours’ notice. And if they move it an inch, it counts as moving it. And we have to tell people we tried, but it’s the way the laws are.”

California Vehicle Code 22651(k) prohibits parking for more than 72 hours on any road where no signs indicate any other restrictions. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency indicates that residents should wait at least 72 hours before contacting authorities about a vehicle they think has been parked over the 72 hours limit. Empowered by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision and encouraged by Governor Gavin Newsom, Mayor London Breed, has vowed to aggressively clear encampments and directed police officers to cite homeless campers for illegal lodging if they refuse shelter, with jail time a possibility.

Koniaris has two officers assigned exclusively to illegally parked RVs and focuses on reducing violent crime as his top priority.

Captain Koniaris will be a guest at the next Kansas Street SAFE Association Meeting on Monday, September 30, 2024.