Alex Pyi Phyo is Ocean Avenue’s new footbeat officer.
Becoming a police officer wasn’t always on Phyo's mind. He was studying physics in college, but after sitting in on a ride-along with the Colma Police Department five years ago, that changed. He quit school and joined the South San Francisco Police Department until 2024, when he joined the San Francisco Police Department. He first worked at Central Station before moving to Taraval Station.
Phyo, 31, has also already made an impact at Taraval Station and was honored with the department’s “Officer of the Week” award at City Hall in March for “demonstrating exceptional dedication, reliability and professionalism.”
“Nothing wrong with that place, just wanted something bigger,” Phyo said of South San Francisco’s Police Department. “SF was bigger.”
Phyo, an eight-year Coast Guard reservist currently pursuing a master of studies at the University of Cambridge, is taking over as the station’s footbeat officer, replacing newly promoted Sgt. Drewkai Butler.
Phyo said he has big shoes to fill, both metaphorically and physically, but that he is up for the task and will be patrolling the streets from Wednesday through Sunday. Though he’s new to the neighborhood, Phyo wants the community to feel comfortable approaching him and said they will probably discover that they have a few things in common, like niche interests.
“Come say hi,” Phyo said. “I'm very friendly, promise.”
The Ingleside Light caught up with Phyo to hear more about being on the neighborhood’s footbeat.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What do you enjoy about the job?
If I say everything that's not very specific. Like any other job, there are things I hate, but the pros definitely outweigh the cons by a good majority. Out of nine good things, there will be one bad thing. A good example would be that I get to not sit in one place. I'm not big on office jobs. I'm reluctant; if I ever get to detective, I’ll probably not take it. So that's one of the great things about this job: your office is your car. You drive around responding to calls. Another good thing is the camaraderie. I've been in the military before. The camaraderie here is unmatched. I'm not sure if it's SFPD or just the police force in general, but camaraderie is good. Friends are good. Coworkers are good. Bosses are great. Community-wise, the Taraval is a great place. People like and support us. It's a breath of fresh air. I mean, it's not the same anywhere else, which is OK. Everyone's got their prerogative. It is what it is. But so far from the Taraval, I love that the community supports us, if we do the right thing, granted. Would I be able to work in a community where they don't like us? Absolutely, but would I prefer to? Absolutely not.
Why’d you sign up to be a footbeat officer?
I didn't sign up; they asked me. I was at the master’s program when they called me. I was like, “Let me think about it.” And three, four hours later, I was like, “Sure, I'll take it.”
How are you going to approach the job?
So far, I haven’t really been in a community engagement-oriented role. I'm usually like, “If you committed a crime, let's take you to jail.” It's pretty new. So far I've just been walking around saying “Hi” to the business owners. Like, "Hey, what's bothering you guys? What are your issues? Oh, this issue with this guy? Cool. I’ll go talk to him.” That's about it. The merchants are really, really friendly. They're great people. Whole Foods, you'd be surprised at how many thefts you deter when you're there, just walking around the aisles, because Whole Foods was rampant with theft, but when you park your car there, you engage with the community, you engage with the patrons, you’d be surprised at how many shoplifters go down. We have a prolific who's stopped coming here for like the past month now, so that's good, that's very good. In terms of community, there’s not really a science to it. I just walk around and say “Hi” to people.
