SFPD gay captain to oversee community engagement efforts
The San Francisco Police Department has assigned its first out gay captain to oversee its Community Engagement Division. Housed out of Mission Station, the division works closely with the community liaisons assigned at all 10 of the department's district stations and oversees such efforts as youth-oriented programs and annual holiday donations of turkeys, toys, and Christmas trees.
As the Bay Area Reporter first reported online January 19, Captain Christopher Del Gandio is the first known gay man to make that rank.
He is also currently the highest-ranking out LGBTQ police officer in the department. Del Gandio has been undergoing training to become a captain and his assignment overseeing the community-focused division LINK: https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/your-sfpd/explore-department/community-engagement will become official Saturday, January 29.
He told the B.A.R. he was pleased with his being sent back to oversee a division where he had been assigned as a lieutenant. "I think it will give me the opportunity to help connect all communities, including my community (LGBTQ), so that we can work together toward a safer future," said Del Gandio, who had passed his captain's test in July 2020.
