San Francisco streets have been riddled with crime, drugs and homelessness in recent years, with the Tenderloin district being "ground zero" for the city's addicts as the crisis continues to spiral.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham visited the drug-ridden area for the second time to witness firsthand the "heartbreaking" chaos that has ensued within the community's open-air drug market.
"The Ingraham Angle" host spoke with San Francisco Police Officers Association's Lt. Tracy McCray about how the city has handled the challenges since her last visit in 2021 and what needs to happen to reverse the trend.
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"Just take a look around, and you see people addicted to fentanyl, crystal meth… heroin," McCray told Ingraham. "You got your crack cocaine still, but you got your garden variety of all the type of drugs, and this is where you're going to find people who are on all of these different drugs just walking around."
"You're going to go down the street and you're going to see someone who is shooting up... right in broad daylight," she continued.
During her visit, Ingraham spoke with one addict on the street who said she is married and has children, but has turned to fentanyl in a desperate attempt to cope with past trauma.
"To me, fentanyl has been… like something that's helping keeping me alive. It helps me not think about some of the trauma that I've been through," she told Ingraham in an emotional moment.
"When I don't get it… I can't breathe sometimes, or I have anxiety really bad, but when I have it… I immediately calm down. I immediately calm down," she continued.
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Ingraham embraced her as she broke down in tears.
McCray noted the police department's staffing shortages are a significant factor in the city's spiraling drug and crime crises, although police cannot be the "only solution" to the areas multi-faceted tragedies.
An audit of state records previously revealed the San Francisco Police Department even hired dozens of either unqualified or undocumented officers to tackle the surmounting shortages, according to a report published in March.
She said the city is down almost 600 police officers.
But even with a full force, she highlighted the need for more community involvement in prevailing over the current city-wide battles.
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"A fully staffed police force could be out here connecting with people, trying to get them connected to services, but we need those partners out here, too," McCray said. "That's that's the thing. They all say we get all this money. It's billion dollar organization. We get all this money, but where do you see the boots on the ground from the community organizations out here trying to help that man, trying to help that man across the street, trying to help that lady in the doorway, trying to help that man wrapped in a blanket? Where are they? See, that's my problem."
Critics have slammed San Francisco Mayor London Breed in recent years, accusing her of worsening the drug and crime crises after defunding the police by $120 million in 2020.
San Francisco had the second-highest overdose rate in the nation along with the second-highest death rate from fentanyl overdose in 2020, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
But since crime has soared following the move, she has somewhat pivoted on her progressive stance and even sought federal support in curbing the city's open-air drug market.
She also vowed to bolster policing during her state of the city address earlier this year.
"My whole thing is, when did that fall on us? That's not my issue," McCray said. "I get I am my brother's keeper, but damn. How much keeping does one person have to do for another adult who makes these choices? That's the other thing here nobody ever talks about. These are adults who are making choices to be out here to do this."
Despite the ongoing battles plaguing San Francisco streets, McCray, who has worked for the city's police department for nearly three decades, said she remains hopeful for the future.
"I have hope, but it's going to be a long term kind of whole project. So we're talking maybe five years, 10 years down the road to recover. San Francisco bounced back. It always has. But this one is going to be a little bit tougher to bounce back from."
Fox News' Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
