Shocking footage shows junkies taking over San Francisco BART station

Junkies have been filmed openly shooting up in a San Francisco subway station amid piles of vomit and unconscious bodies. 

Commuter Shannon Gafford recorded the disturbing video at the Civic Center BART station, saying he sees the same thing every day.

BART managers point to a national homeless and opiate crises as the cause of the problem, saying they are simply ‘overwhelmed’ by the amount of drug use.

Shannon Gafford filmed shocking footage of drug users openly shooting up at the Civic Center BART station in San Francisco

Drug users lay on the floor next to piles of vomit and unconscious bodies as Gafford said he witnesses the same thing every day

Drug users lay on the floor next to piles of vomit and unconscious bodies as Gafford said he witnesses the same thing every day

An estimated $30million - nearly half of the city's $65million street cleaning budget - is aimed at cleaning up needles and feces from sidewalks and homeless encampments

An estimated $30million – nearly half of the city’s $65million street cleaning budget – is aimed at cleaning up needles and feces from sidewalks and homeless encampments

Posting his video to Facebook, Gafford wrote: ‘Someone needs to clean this up. Every morning, every day, it’s the same thing. 

‘Junkies shooting up and making Bart the most pleasant experience ever! I walk the Civic Center Station everyday and not once has this changed. 

‘Does someone need to be hurt first ? I’ve posted several of these videos and sent it to #BartSF #BartPoliceDepartment and nothing.’

Part of the problem, according to CBS Bay Area, is that the city’s jurisdiction ends where the subway tunnels start, meaning it it BART’s responsibility to fix the issue.

While the service says it is aware of the problem and is assigning 30 more officers to patrol the network, it simply cannot keep up.

But mayor Mark Farrell says he’s had enough and has vowed to take action.

‘I don’t care, at the end of the day, if now we have jurisdictional issues,’ he said. 

‘As mayor, I want to get something done, and I want to make sure these BART stations are cleaned up.’ 

San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell has vowed to take action to clean the BART stations up

San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell has vowed to take action to clean the BART stations up

Gafford said he has repeatedly complained to BART authorities but nothing has been done to clean up the station

Gafford said he has repeatedly complained to BART authorities but nothing has been done to clean up the station

On Monday, Mayor Mark Farrell told residents a team who work solely to pick up needles off the streets will now respond to resident complaints and complete cleanups in 'hot spots' seven days a week

On Monday, Mayor Mark Farrell told residents a team who work solely to pick up needles off the streets will now respond to resident complaints and complete cleanups in ‘hot spots’ seven days a week

BART says it has employed more station guards but admits it has been overwhelmed in the midst of nation homelessness and opioid crises

BART says it has employed more station guards but admits it has been overwhelmed in the midst of nation homelessness and opioid crises

San Francisco has been struggling to cope with its homeless population. 

In 2017, the results of San Francisco’s bi-annual ‘homeless census’ showed the city had an estimated homeless population of 7,499.

Mayor Mark Farrell has vowed to clean up the streets and earlier this week, about 50 tent-dwellers were evicted in a sweep of problem streets.

‘Enough is enough. We have offered services time and time again and gotten many off the street, but there is a resistant population that remains, and their tents have to go,’ he said.

Police posted before and after photos of Ellis and Stevenson Streets showing they were completely empty after the Wednesday raids. 

Earlier this month, Joe D’Alessandro, head of San Francisco’s visitor bureau, begged city officials to clean up the streets. 

‘The streets are filthy. There’s trash everywhere. It’s disgusting,’ D’Alessandro told the San Francisco Chronicle.

‘I’ve never seen any other city like this – the homelessness, dirty streets, drug use on the streets, smash-and-grabs.

Mohammed Nuru, Director of the San Francisco’s Public Works Department, told NBC Bay Area he estimates $30million – nearly half of the city’s $65million street cleaning budget – is aimed at cleaning up needles and feces from sidewalks and homeless encampments. 

BART Director Bevan Duffy, who is responsible for Civic Center Station, was shocked when he saw the clip, and said he’s happy it was shared. 

‘You know, this is a very sobering video to see. I am, frankly, glad the rider has shared this,’ he said.  

‘We’re losing some riders, and I know it’s because of these circumstances. So we’re going to work very hard to see a change.’

San Francisco's Tenderloin was bustling with tents, sleeping bags, the meager possessions of the city's homeless on Tuesday - now it is empty

About 50 tent-dwellers were evicted in a sweep of problem streets, either moved on or having their tends and possessions taken away

San Francisco’s Tenderloin was bustling with tents, sleeping bags, the meager possessions of the city’s homeless on Tuesday – now it is empty

 



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