Political Repression In SF: Is Richard Bruce, Proof Of A Red Squad?

Having a "red squad" (a police unit designed to monitor and harass those who have left leaning political views) is illegal. But all evidence points to the existence of this in the supposedly progressive city of San Francisco.

"We recognized that the events of 9-11 forever changed the way we look at security. In line with our continual efforts to better protect the City's population, the Special Operations & Security Bureau (SOSB) was formed. The main purpose of this bureau is to enhance existing law enforcement efforts with the goal of achieving normalcy during these times of heighten alert.

The SOS Bureau will network extensively with other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies as well as other public and private organizations. By doing this, we will strengthen our coordinating, planning and training efforts thereby enhancing our services to the community. "
http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/police/bureaus/sos/sosaboutus.htm

Basically 9/11 allowed SF to recreate a "red squad" and Richard Bruce has been in charge of keeping protesters in line ever since.

The incident today, where protesters were arrested for illegal assembly on a South of Market SIDEWALK is only the latest in a series of incidents. One of the more suspicious recent incidents is the initial refusal by the SFPD to give the IAC a permit for today’s protest. The end result was a protest that ended under the watchful eyes of a police station. The police on the roof with binoculars and cameras were not just trying to figure out about today’s action; they were monitoring and taking pictures of those in the crowd to help build up better knowledge of the internal dynamics of political groups in SF.

The three officers today who seemed to be in charge during the more questionable police actions were Richard Bruce (Deputy Chief of the Special Operations & Security Bureau), Robert Puts (Commander in the Field Operations Bureau) and Captain Dennis Martel. Bruce is in the highest position so most of the blame should always fall on him.