July 29, 2023: 7th & Market SW Corner, SF, CA ‘The Path of Gold’
Meet Your new Chief: David Lazar and Chesa Boudin—a timeline
by Andrew Walden
Newly selected Honolulu Police Chief David Lazar must first undergo an FBI background check and contract negotiations before being sworn in as Chief.
There is something Lazar left out of the resume he provided to Commissioners prior to being selected by their 5-2 vote May 20, 2026:
Lazar served on the 'transition team' for the newly elected San Francisco Prosecutor Chesa Boudin in 2020. (LINK: Source) Boudin, of course, flamed out so badly that outraged San Francisco voters recalled him from office in 2022 by a vote of 60% to 40%.
Leaving a detail like that out is a clear ethical violation, similar to Supreme Court Chief Justice Vladimir Devens neglecting to mention the years he had been a director of PRP.
Here’s some material for the David Lazar ‘Background Check’:
“Louis Kealoha was promoted to Chief on November 25, 2009. Following his appointment, he and his wife Katherine Kealoha threw a lavish party, spending $26,000 which had been stolen from Katherine's grandmother.”
Flash forward 17 years to Lazar’s May 20, 2026, selection vote:
Honolulu Police Commissioner Gary Yabuta explains: “I wish the new chief all the luck in the world, but it's not a day for congratulations. You didn't win a lottery. You didn't win a poker hand when you took everybody else on the on the table's money. You were given an opportunity to lead to lead a department. You have to understand that this is not a day of congratulations. This is a day of moving forward.”
David Lazar tells reporters: “I saw an outside chief come to our department (in San Francisco) and he was gracious and he was humble and he was respectful and he worked hard with the men and women of the department to move it forward. That's my plan as as the next chief.”
Lazar is referring to recently ousted SFPD Chief Bill Scott. After radical leftist San Francisco Prosecutor Chesa Boudin was recalled 60%-40% in 2022, the 2024 SF mayoral race was fought in part over how quickly to fire Chief Scott.
Newly elected SF Mayor Daniel Lurie forced Scott out in May, 2025. Lazar, Scott’s second-in-command, presumably seeing the handwriting on the wall, and seeing that he would not be promoted to Chief by Lurie, had already announced his own resignation.
(Blangiardi, by appointing Biden's failed Border Commissioner, Chris Magnus, in September, 2025, to the Police Commission, has manipulated the Commission into discrediting itself by choosing somebody like Lazar. Blangiardi's purpose is to win Mayoral authority to appoint future police chiefs. That question will be on the November ballot. But I digress.)
Here is the timeline in San Francisco, Honolulu and Washington, DC:
TIMELINE SF-HNL-DC:
SF July 1 2015:
Kathryn Steinle was shot dead at SF Fishermen's Wharf by career criminal illegal José Inez García Zárate who had been released from SF jail rather than being handed over to ICE for his 6th deportation.
HNL December 2016:
Louis and Katherine Kealoha placed on leave after federal charges are filed.
SF January 23, 2017:
SF Feb 25, 2017:
David-Lazar-Resume.pdf
Feb 25, 2017: Scott promotes Lazar from Commander of Central Station to ‘Commander of the Community Engagement Division’
Sept 3, 2019: Scott promotes Lazar to Deputy Chief
June 1, 2022: Scott promotes Lazar to Assistant Chief (#2 position in SFPD)
SF January 8 2020:
DA Chesa Boudin sworn in with promises of dramatic reform
A reformer who has promised to shake up the broken criminal justice system was sworn into office Thursday, with a promise to end cash bail, end “three-strikes” sentencing, and create a restorative-justice program that starts with alternatives to incarceration….
In a stunning moment that silenced the capacity crowd, Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor congratulated Boudin with a video message….
Then Boudin spoke.
“Our criminal justice system is not keeping us safe,” he said. “Join me in rejecting the notion that to be free we must cage others.”
He spoke of how the word “radical” was often attached to his name in the news media, then said that “my friend Angela Davis” – he took a beat and said, “I repeat, my friend Angela Davis,” who was in the audience – had explained the derivation of “radical” is simply “grasping things at the roots.”
That is, the root causes of crime.
He vowed that crime victims would have a past to restitution, that he would end “racist sentencing enhancements,” and that three-strikes prosecutions would end. He promised a new survivor-centered sexual-assault policy and a diversion program for single parent caregivers.
He also said he plans to start an immigration unit that will work with prosecutors to understand the immigration implications of cases.
“We will have the most comprehensive restorative justice program in the country,” he vowed. “Restorative justice saves lives.”
So far, the cops are being polite – although the POA viciously attacked Boudin, he has reached out to them, and Commander David Lazar is on his transition team. I asked Lazar if he is afraid the Boudin will be “soft on crime.” Lazar was politic:
“We are optimistic, and I look forward to working with the new DA,” he said. “He has a lot of good ideas.”
The mayor? Well, all I can say is that Breed sat on stage while Boudin outlined a radical program for criminal-justice reform. He was interrupted repeatedly with applause.
Mayor Breed looked really uncomfortable and was the only one in the room who wasn’t applauding.
NOTE: There is no mention of working for Boudin in David Lazar's resume.
DC March, 2020:
COVID shutdowns begin.
DC March 13, 2020:
Louisville crack dealer Brionna Taylor dies in shootout between one of her boyfriends and police. Police are blamed. Riots erupt.
DC May 25, 2020:
While being arrested for counterfeiting, career criminal George Floyd dies in Minneapolis under the influence of COVID, fentanyl, and meth. Police are blamed. Riots erupt.
DC November, 2020:
Usually when Democrats riot, they lose the next election. But Trump loses to Biden.
HNL November 30, 2020:
Katherine Kealoha sentenced to 13 years in Federal prison. The saga begins in 2007. It went public in 2011, when Kealoha was sued for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from her grandmother, Florence Puana.
Here is the rundown from Wikipedia. Think of it as a timeline within a timeline and a measurement of how the petty agendas of crooked Hawaii politicos intersect (or don’t intersect) with national political timelines:
Louis Kealoha is a former Chief of the Honolulu Police Department. He joined the department in 1983 and was promoted to Chief on November 25, 2009.[1] Following his appointment, he and his wife Katherine Kealoha threw a lavish party, spending $26,000 which had been stolen from Katherine's grandmother.[2]
In December 2014 the FBI launched an investigation into Louis and Katherine following the arrest and prosecution of her uncle who was framed by the couple for stealing their mailbox. In December 2016, Kealoha was placed on leave after federal charges were filed. In January 2017, the Honolulu Police Commission authorized a payout to Kealoha of $250,000 without the authorization of the Honolulu City Council.[3]
Louis Kealoha was convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice, along with his wife Katherine and three other police officers in June 2019.[4] The former police chief began serving a seven-year prison sentence in Oregon which was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic until June 2021.[5]
DC Jan 6, 2021:
Trump attempts coup d’etat. Fails.
DC January 20, 2021:
Biden sworn in.
SF January 21, 2021:
S.F. small business owner barely hangs on with little help from City Hall
Sharky Laguana, president of the city’s Small Business Commission, said he’s heard a constant stream of reports of criminal activity from small business owners since the pandemic started. He attributes it to a number of factors. Tourists, usually easy pickings for thieves, are gone, so local businesses are more of a target. More people are out of work and desperate. And the city has failed to address the drug and mental health crisis on its streets.
And, he acknowledged, City Hall and the criminal justice system are busy blaming each other rather than solving the problem. He invited District Attorney Chesa Boudin and Deputy Police Chief David Lazar to the last small business commission meeting so they could hear from small business owners themselves. They attended but were too busy to stay for public comment, he said.
“What should be clear to everyone is this isn’t just a case of small businesses feeling like crime is higher — it is higher,” Laguana said, adding a lot of crime isn’t reported. “We see that reflected throughout the city with people giving up and losing hope.”
San Francisco’s crime during the pandemic is a mixed bag, with some categories up and others down. Burglary has increased by 50% compared to a year ago, and 571 reports of burglary were made to San Francisco police in the first 3 ½ weeks of this year alone.
The city doesn’t even know how many of its small businesses have shuttered for good. Laguana launched a survey to track how many small businesses have closed during the pandemic and hopes to have data soon.
DC April 2021:
Chris Magnus nominated by Biden to become Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He is confirmed by Senate November, 2021. Magnus oversees Biden’s open border ‘parole into US’ policy until he is ousted in November 2022. He moves to Honolulu in 2023. Magnus appointed to Honolulu Police Commission in late 2025.
SF Nov 24, 2021:
San Francisco police just watch as burglary appears to unfold, suspects drive away, surveillance video shows
A screen grab taken from surveillance video shows two different angles of what appears to be a burglary of a cannabis dispensary north of the Panhandle in San Francisco. Police arrive as the scene is unfolding — one police car shines its spotlight on the apparent getaway vehicle — but do not engage the suspects and allow the car to drive off….
The incident on Nov. 16, which was captured by surveillance video that was obtained by The Chronicle, angered the business owner and his daughter. She saw it as a deliberate choice to “almost allow the crime to happen.” It comes at a time when the city is bitterly divided over whether the police, District Attorney Chesa Boudin or city leaders are to blame as tensions over public safety issues mount….
The owner of the business, Tariq Mizyed Alazraie, said he has suffered more than five break-ins at the shop, and the police "have always responded, but they never acted."….
SF April 4, 2022:
Bill Ayres: Chesa from LA Times
Chesa Boudin and Lorenzo Charles became friends during monthly visits to their mothers in a maximum-security prison.
Lorenzo’s mother was behind bars for a relatively minor drug offense; Kathy Boudin, a leader of the radical Weather Underground, was doing 20 years to life for her role as an unarmed getaway driver in a 1981 Brinks robbery near New York City that ended with three dead.
When 6-year-old Chesa screamed at his mother for abandoning him as an infant, Lorenzo calmed him. When Chesa refused to do homework, his mother urged him to emulate Lorenzo, an A student who lived with his grandmother in a tough Brooklyn neighborhood.
Not yet 5 years old, Chesa had been visiting his father in prison for almost four years. A few years later, he began to spend weekends with him in trailer visits.
Chesa lived in Chicago with his adopted family of (Marxist) activist (pseudo-)intellectuals. With their support, he channeled his anger into achievement. He lost touch with Lorenzo. In his first semester at Yale, Chesa received a letter from his father, imprisoned for his role in the Brinks robbery. He had met Lorenzo on his cell block. Doing time for burglary.
SF June 1, 2022:
David-Lazar-Resume.pdf
Scott promotes Lazar to Assistant Chief (#2 position in SFPD)
Six days later, Boudin is recalled by angry SF voters 60%-40%.
SF June 7, 2022:
San Francisco ousts liberal DA Chesa Boudin in heated recall
San Francisco on Tuesday has voted to recall progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin in a heated campaign that bitterly divided Democrats over crime, policing and public safety reform.
Partial returns showed Boudin losing in what is expected to be a low turnout election. A secondary round of returns showed 59.9% of votes in favor of the recall.
Boudin, 41, was a first-time political candidate who narrowly won office in November 2019 as part of a national wave of progressive prosecutors who pledged to seek alternatives to incarceration, end the ‘racist’ war on drugs and hold police officers to account.
But his time in office coincided with a frustrating and frightening pandemic in which viral footage of brazen shoplifting and attacks against mostly older Asian American people drove some residents to mount a recall campaign of the former public defender and son of left-wing activists.
Recall proponents said Boudin was ideologically inflexible and inexperienced, often siding with criminals instead of victims. Recall opponents said the recall was a Republican power grab meant to undermine public safety reforms….
Boudin was a baby when his parents, left-wing Weather Underground radicals, served as drivers in a botched 1981 robbery in New York that left two police officers and a security guard dead. They were sentenced to decades in prison.
While campaigning, he spoke of the pain of stepping through metal detectors to hug his parents and vowed to reform a system that tears apart families. Kathy Boudin was released on parole in 2003 and died of cancer in May. David Gilbert was granted parole in October.
SF June 27 2022:
Can SF Reclaim 600 Eddy Block from Drug Dealers?
David Lazar is the new Assistant Chief of Operations for the SFPD. He has a long history of strong community relations in Chinatown. Lazar has stated he is committed to ending open air drug markets in the Tenderloin.
Lazar and his hand-picked group of twenty Tenderloin officers want to protect 600 Eddy’s small business owners, tenants, and property owners from drug dealers. But that requires buy in from San Francisco’s political leadership.
City Hall must insist to the SFPD that it expects 600 Eddy to be cleared of dealers. It’s really not more complicated than that. San Francisco didn’t let Louis Vuitton get robbed night after night. But it accepts drug dealers dominating the 600 block of Eddy to this day.
Drug dealers are so comfortable in the Tenderloin and SOMA that the cartel delivers them meals multiple times a day. This sends a comforting message to dealers but a troubling one to those living and working in the neighborhood.
DC November, 2022:
Chris Magnus Resigns as Commissioner of Border Patrol
Politico Oct 2022: The head of Customs and Border Protection stands accused of being disengaged. Five current administration officials who work with CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus portrayed him as unengaged in his job, saying he often doesn’t attend White House meetings on the situation on the border, badmouths other agencies to colleagues and superiors, and has not built relationships within CBP and across other agencies to address the influx of migrants at the border. They complain he is unfamiliar with some of the operations of CBP and instead is focused primarily on reforming the culture of the Border Patrol, addressing its long list of allegations of racism and violence.
(CLUE: Same program for HPD.)
NPR Nov 2022: Customs and Border Protection head Chris Magnus resigns -- The shakeup at CBP comes after migrant apprehensions (and releases) at the southern border climbed to a record high of more than 2.3 million in the past year, fueling attacks from Republicans that the Biden administration's border policies are too lenient. Magnus, who is 62, was picked by the White House and confirmed by the Senate in a party-line vote. He was the first openly gay man to lead the CBP, the nation's largest law enforcement agency.
(TRANSLATION: DEI pick. Magnus had to be removed to distance Biden's reelection campaign from his out-of-control open border disaster.)
SF July 29, 2023:
7th & Market SW Corner, SF, CA ‘The Path of Gold’ – video
SF Feb 26, 2025:
Reformist SF Police Commissioner Is Ousted, Giving Lurie Greater Control of Oversight
San Francisco supervisors voted Tuesday to remove progressive police commissioner Max Carter-Oberstone, a move that could give Mayor Daniel Lurie greater influence over the commission but also one that some city officials and police reform activists worry will hurt efforts to improve law enforcement accountability.
The 9–2 vote came less than a month after Lurie moved to dismiss the commissioner before the end of his term next year in favor of one the mayor said would be more collaborative.
Carter-Oberstone was twice appointed to the oversight body by former Mayor London Breed, but he publicly clashed with her over public safety policies and exposed her controversial practice of having commission appointees sign undated resignation letters at the start of their terms. Without him as a reliable ally, Breed effectively lost control of the Police Commission, whose seven members include four appointed by the mayor.
According to Carter-Oberstone, Lurie’s office notified him three weeks ago that it would be seeking his removal after he made it clear during a previous meeting that he would not resign at the mayor’s request….
Carolyn Goosen, policy director at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. “We need to ensure that there is strong, independent civilian oversight, and this is what Commissioner Carter-Oberstone exemplifies.”
Goosen praised Carter-Oberstone for his work as an outspoken proponent of police reform and for his effort in spearheading racial justice initiatives in San Francisco, including a commission-initiated policy that bans “pretextual” traffic stops — those for low-level violations that officers use to investigate whether the person was involved in an unrelated crime, often based on little more than speculation….
(TRANSLATION: Small criminals get a free pass if police think they might be guilty of bigger crimes.)
SF April 7, 2025
S.F. Police Department’s second-in-command, seen as possible future chief, to retire in May
The San Francisco Police Department’s second-in-command announced Monday that he plans to retire at the end of May, effectively putting to rest a widely held belief that he was a top contender to one day succeed current Chief Bill Scott.
Assistant Chief David Lazar, a fourth-generation San Franciscan who grew up in the Sunset and Richmond districts, is a 33-year veteran of the department. In a statement provided to the Chronicle on Monday, Lazar called being a San Francisco police officer “my life’s calling.”
“I recently announced my upcoming retirement to Chief Scott and my colleagues and friends after much prayer and contemplation,” Lazar said. “I’m excited for the next chapter in my life, which includes sending my youngest daughter off to college.”
Lazar’s departure comes amid intense speculation over whether Mayor Daniel Lurie would replace Scott. Scott said he has no plans to leave the department and Lurie has announced no plans to oust him.
In a statement, Scott thanked Lazar for his service and said he served SFPD with “honor and distinction.”
Lazar “has demonstrated a tireless work ethic, and the utmost commitment and dedication to the people of San Francisco and members of the SFPD,” Scott said.
Lazar rose through the ranks serving at eight of the 10 police stations across the city and in 25 different assignments, he said. In leadership roles, Lazar has overseen investigations on various types of crimes, including gangs, domestic violence, robbery and homicides.
For the past three years, Lazar has served in his current position under Scott as Assistant Chief of Operations.
“While all my assignments have been memorable and impactful, the three years I served as the Captain of Central Station was the highlight for me,” Lazar said. “It provided a tremendous opportunity to work collaboratively with the community, building partnerships, relationships and promoting community policing.”
In a statement, Lurie said the city was grateful to Lazar for his service, as someone who “dedicated his life and career to keeping San Francisco safe.”
Tracy McCray, president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, congratulated Lazar on his retirement, “as well as all the officers we represent who are retiring at this time.”
Lazar said his last day of work is May 29, and that he wished Chief Scott well as he “continues to do an incredible job leading our department.”
SF May 6, 2025
S.F. supervisors begrudgingly greenlight big boost to SFPD overtime
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors today voted 9-2 to approve the police department’s request for $61 million in additional overtime funding for this year, but also chastised the department for coming to the board, as it has for years now, with a hefty, unexpected bill.
“I’m not proud of this vote,” said District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who was appointed to his position directly from the role as head of public relations at the police department. “I don’t think the city should ever be in a situation that requires this much overtime from our public safety agencies.”
In the same vote, the city also approved $30 million in anticipated overtime funding for the sheriff’s department.
The vote comes as San Francisco faces a $818 million budget shortfall, which will require significant cuts to other city services.
SF May 7, 2025
Police Chief Bill Scott-announces-resignation
Mayor Daniel Lurie said Wednesday that San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott, one of the city’s longest-serving top lawmen, is leaving after eight years. During his tenure, Scott oversaw major reforms, sparred with a progressive DA, and dealt with a crime spike following the pandemic — all as SFPD ranks thinned.
The announcement comes a month after Scott’s second-in-command, Assistant Chief David Lazar, said he plans to retire(opens in new tab) at the end of May. Sources previously told The Standard that Lurie, who has replaced multiple department heads since taking office in January, had considered firing Scott.
Scott is the longest-serving chief after Thomas Cahill, who led the department from 1958 to 1970. On June 23, he will start his new job as chief of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Agency’s yet-to-be-created police force….
Former San Francisco Police Officers Association President Tony Montoya criticized Scott.
“Bill Scott was never committed to San Francisco. His heart and loyalties remained in L.A.,” Montoya said. “He always had his eyes on leaving. I was in a one-on-one meeting with him when he got the call from [former L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti] notifying him that he didn’t get the chief’s job in L.A. and it was given to Michel Moore.
“Scott isolated himself from the rank and file and never did anything to endear the cops,” Montoya added. “He was a yes man to the politicians and never stood on his own two feet or stood behind the rank and file. He was a nice man but definitely not chief material. He only had one qualification for the job and was a DEI hire.”
The departure of Scott was celebrated inside the Police Officers Association, too.
“New dawn, new way of life…time to seize the day!” wrote POA President Tracy McCray Wednesday morning in an email obtained by The Standard.
The message also contained allegations that Scott stood in the way of police officers’ due process in discipline cases.
“We have toiled over the past eight (8) years in hundreds of cases guarding the due process rights of our union members in so many instances of obstacles from an outside LAPD chief,” wrote ex-POA President Paul Chignell.
SF May 12, 2025:
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s patience has paid off.
As Police Chief Bill Scott heads off to a new gig in his old town, Lurie will now have a hand in selecting The City’s next police chief, without having to have publicly and painfully ousted the one he inherited.
When he ran for office last year, Lurie could have matched his opponent’s signature promise to immediately fire Scott upon taking office. He did not, and pledged only to review Scott’s performance like he would that of all city department heads.
HNL Sept 2025:
Blangiardi appoints Bidens Border patrol Chief to Honolulu Police Commission – (Note how the failure of local leadership makes way for the ‘impressive’ failed national leadership.)
After watching a lackluster performance by Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s previous Honolulu Police Commission nominee at a City Council hearing in May, Christopher Magnus, who retired to Honolulu in 2023, reached out to the mayor with policing advice. Blangiardi was impressed and nominated him to the commission instead.
“I had three prior attempts to try to put somebody with police experience (on),” Blangiardi said last week. “Unable to do so. And then along comes a guy like Chris, and it just sort of jumps off the paper.”…
HNL May 20, 2026:
Anti-ICE San Franciscan Lazar to be Next Honolulu Chief