Capt. Paul Chignell: The Tragedy at the SF Zoo

The past few days have been unusual at the Taraval Station due to the horrific death of a young man at the San Francisco Zoo and the injuries to the other two victims.

Four Taraval officers were involved in the shooting of the tiger. The actions of the officers undoubtedly saved the lives of the injured and other members of the public.

This tragedy has been the talk of the Taraval Station and the City and has reverberated around the nation and the world. Investigations are still being conducted by the San Francisco Police Department and the Zoological Society to explore all aspects of this event.

Our hearts go out to the family of the young man mauled to death by the tiger and we hope for the speedy recovery of the additional victims. It is hard to fathom that young police officers would have to face such an attack and be required to dispatch a 350-pound wild animal with their handguns - but that is exactly what these officers did.

They responded to a frantic set of calls from zoo employees and, in a courageous manner, tracked down the animal and killed it as it was moving towards the officers.

I have nothing but respect for those officers and the others who responded to the zoo property to check for victims and maintain order.

The investigations of this incident will unfold over the next weeks, but be assured that Taraval police officers are there to meet any emergencies in our community.

Capt. Paul Chignell is the commanding officer at the Taraval Police Station. He penned this column the last week of December, 2007.