00:00:01.340 - 00:00:22.730

Yeah, yeah. Police deny it is a desperation move. But with all other efforts having turned up little or nothing in the zebra manhunt other than controversy over stopping young black men, a special squad of 30 mostly black officers assembled at headquarters this afternoon to try a

00:00:22.730 - 00:00:41.950

new approach. Well, primarily, we're going to be an intelligence gathering unit. We're gonna go into the different neighborhoods. Uh, we're gonna try and contact people that, uh, may have some information Who, uh, because feeling it's not important enough don't feel like calling the police feeling that

00:00:42.240 - 00:00:58.720

black officers probably would be more resentful and be more in tuned to, uh, the attitudes of the people that we're dealing with that. That's why the the unit was made up predominantly of black officers. Now, I believe this is the first time this has ever been

00:00:58.720 - 00:01:14.430

attempted in the Central Police Department. Anyway, does that mean to stop and search or stop and question tactics have turned up nothing? Is this a desperation move now? Uh, well, we don't see it as a desperation move. We just think that it's, uh, something that may

00:01:14.440 - 00:01:39.800

supplement the efforts and may, in a way, ease the pressure that's being brought on the community. All units released to the owner. California, California. This is how the new zebra black detail will work. Officers Willie Johnson and Herman Clark, for example, drove to the heart of

00:01:39.800 - 00:02:28.360

the Fillmore district, where many of the zebras shootings have taken place over a period of time. They hope to establish reliable contacts. Will, in turn, keep an eye peeled for the zebra. No, thank you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're checking, uh, for suspicious men who

00:02:28.360 - 00:02:43.380

have been reported to us We're trying to track down men have been reported to us to find out their, uh, their activities. Uh, last several nights, especially nights of the murders. Uh, we're also, uh, interviewing. Several people are trying to find out if there are witnesses.

00:02:43.390 - 00:02:57.050

The past homicides that we've had in shootings, anything we can do to bring into the zebra killings. That's about the gist of it. Uh, we're gonna be in the area, not only this district with all districts of the city, and you tell the man in the

00:02:57.050 - 00:03:09.120

bar that there had been a report of somebody fitting this description that come into the bar today. with a gun. Uh, we got an anonymous call that possibly a man of that description had come into the bar. We just want to check it out. And nothing

00:03:09.120 - 00:03:25.250

came of it. Nothing came of it. We're gonna reports like this all the time. Police make it clear that this new special effort by black policemen is not a substitute for the controversial stop and question tactic of Operation Zebra. In fact, police brass will be hauled

00:03:25.250 - 00:03:31.960

into federal court tomorrow to try to justify it. Mike Lee, Eyewitness news in the Fillmore of San Francisco.