Richard Hongisto
| Richard D. Hongisto | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 16, 1936 Bovey, Minnesota |
| Died | November 4, 2004 (aged 67) San Francisco, California |
| Police career | |
| Department |
San Francisco Sheriff's Department Cleveland Division of Police San Francisco Police Department |
| Years of service | SFPD: 1958–1971, 1992 Cleveland: 1977–1978 |
| Rank | Sheriff Chief |
Richard D. Hongisto (December 16, 1936, Bovey, Minnesota – November 4, 2004) was a businessman, politician, sheriff and police chief of San Francisco, California, and Cleveland, Ohio.
Hongisto was the son of Gladys Longrie and Raymond Hongisto. In 1942, Dick moved to San Francisco with his parents and brother Don. Dick grew up in the Sunset District, where he graduated from George Washington High School. He later attended San Francisco City College. While completing a bachelor's degree at San Francisco State University, Hongisto became an officer of the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD).
As a police officer, Hongisto earned a reputation for activism, fighting discrimination within the police force and against police brutality. He was a co-founder of Officers for Justice, an organization of officers who were primarily racial minorities or gay.
Hongisto's activism made him controversial among the ranks of the SFPD, but at the same time he was a popular public figure. He ran for sheriff in 1971, and was elected — an event that shocked the San Francisco political establishment. The incumbent, Matthew Carberry, had been a four-term sheriff, was well-connected politically, and had been considered a shoo-in for a return to the job.
Hongisto's election had been orchestrated methodically by computer analyst Les Morgan, using the then-new idea of precinct analysis of voting trends. Hongisto was considered the first candidate for public office in San Francisco to be elected largely by outsiders: gay, Latino, and other minority voters who had a strong voting presence, but who had been ignored by the political establishment.
He was the first sheriff to hire gay and lesbian deputies, and later became embroiled in controversy when he deliberately delayed the eviction of residents from the International Hotel, a residential hotel in Manilatown.
After a long period where he refused to order the eviction, which included time spent in the San Mateo County jail on contempt of court charges, Hongisto eventually carried out the mass eviction, which earned him the enmity of some of the very people he tried to protect.
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