San Francisco Sheriffs Union Accuses Police Union of ‘Intimidating’ a Pizzeria Who Refuses to Serve Police

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A week and a half after the San Francisco Police Union tweeted that a local pizzeria was refusing to serve a group of cops, the city’s sheriff’s office posted a TikTok message about a nice trip to the pizzeria.

At first glance, the clip of smiling Pizza Squared employees and San Francisco sheriff’s deputies munching on morsels outside a SoMa store fits the kind, community-focused messages found on the sheriff’s TikTok channel. The short video, posted on February 9th – National Pizza Day – is set to Justin Bieber’s tune “Yummy”.

But reading between the lines of the clip I shared Twitter account of the union representing San Francisco sheriff’s deputies.— this can be seen as a subtle rebuke to the San Francisco Police Officers Association.

TikTok was published 11 days after the January 29 incident, when a Pizza Squared cashier told several San Francisco police officers that they were “not welcome at the restaurant.” In response, the store owner apologized and fired the cashier, who ordered the policemen to leave.

The San Francisco Police Officers Association (POA) tweeted about the incident, calling it “shameful”. Even though POA acknowledged the owner’s apology on Twitterthis was not enough to stop the flow of negative reviews on the Yelp Pizza Squared page.

Ken Lomba, a deputy sheriff who spoke to The Standard about the incident as president of the San Francisco Sheriffs’ Association, said he thought the police union should not have made the incident public.

“Personally, I think it was unprofessional for POA to post this on social media,” Lomba said. “They publicly shame and intimidate people.”

The Sheriff’s Deputies’ Association previously issued a press release condemning the police union’s actions on February 2.

Dustin DeRollo, a spokesman for the San Francisco Police Officers Association, called Lomba’s allegations a “publicity stunt” and questioned his motives.

“This issue has become completely political, which should not have been,” DeRollo said. Both the San Francisco Police Officers’ Association and the Sheriff’s Deputies’ Association recently argued with each other over which agency should patrol the San Francisco International Airport.

DeRollo went on to defend the police union, saying that someone had already taken to Twitter to call out Pizza Squared for refusing to serve officers.

“It was already public,” DeRollo said. “We felt it was important to acknowledge what happened and detail how quickly and sincerely the business owner resolved the issue.”

While Lomba said he never liked hearing about local merchants denying law enforcement service, he said he found the POA’s actions just as distasteful.

“In San Francisco, businesses are leaving,” Lomba said. “What does POA do? They go out and publicly shame the business. … I just shake my head looking at the SFPOA.”

When asked about Lomba’s remarks, a spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department declined to comment and gave way to a police union.

Tara Moriarty, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, declined to comment on Lomba’s scathing remarks about the SFPD and the Police Association.

However, Moriarty was one of the sheriff’s deputies who visited Pizza Squared on National Pizza Day to film a TikTok clip. She said she was touched that the owners quickly fired an employee who ordered the SFPD to leave and said she loved the pizza.

“It was the bomb,” Moriarty said.

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