'GMA' reports downtown San Francisco 'too dangerous' to film live in the morning
ABC correspondent Matt Gutman remarked that he was advised against appearing in downtown San Francisco early in the morning because it was "too dangerous."
San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s office responded to a "Good Morning America" segment that called the city "too dangerous" to film in downtown as hurting "all San Franciscans."
"Sadly some of the news coverage conflate the reasons or do not provide the full picture of why big retailers and other businesses in San Francisco are deciding to leave or transfer ownership of their operations," the mayor's office told SFGATE.
Breed's office claimed that the COVID-19 pandemic reduced "foot traffic" in downtown San Francisco and said violent crimes have actually decreased in the Downtown and Tenderloin areas.
"Although there is a lot of work ahead of us, and we will continue to focus on our economic recovery and public safety, the reality is that the number of reported violent crimes in Downtown and the Tenderloin is down so far this year, when compared to the same time period last year," according to the mayor's office.
'GOOD MORNING AMERICA' WON'T FILM LIVE FROM DOWNTOWN SAN FRANCISCO: 'SIMPLY TOO DANGEROUS'
San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s office responded to a Good Morning America segment that called the city "too dangerous" to film downtown as hurting "all San Franciscans" in a statement to San Francisco Gate. ((AP Photo/Eric Risberg))
Breed was reacting to a segment from ABC News reporter Matt Gutman that aired on "GMA" last week, who remarked that his crew had been told not to film live in that area of downtown San Francisco because of the location being "too dangerous" at 4 a.m.
"The mayor noting that several metrics of crime are actually flat or down. But it is worth mentioning that we are not at Union Square or the Westfield Mall this morning because we have been advised it is simply too dangerous to be there at this hour," Gutman said at the end of his report.
"San Francisco also has an overall violent crime rate that is lower than other large cities," the mayor’s office added.
Breed has faced criticism from both sides of the law enforcement debate in San Francisco. This month, she argued with a self-described Democratic Socialist, Supervisor Dean Preston, over police arrests in the city.
Breed had committed to cracking down on open-air drug markets in San Francisco, and announced during a Board of Supervisors meeting in June that police made 38 arrests in about one week.
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(During a question-and-answer period, Preston criticized Breed's approach as contradicting the city's 2022 overdose prevention plan stating that "Black, Brown and indigenous communities nationwide" have been disproportionately impacted by racist drug policies.)
During a question-and-answer period, Preston criticized Breed's approach as contradicting the city's 2022 overdose prevention plan stating that "Black, Brown and indigenous communities nationwide" have been disproportionately impacted by racist drug policies.
"Here we go. Another White man who's talking about Black and Brown people as if you're the savior of those people and you speak for them," Breed shot back at Preston.
She also defended law enforcement as a necessary component of fixing the city's drug crisis.
"At the end of the day, when we need to make arrests because someone's breaking the law and needs to be held accountable and can potentially be forced into treatment services, I'm going to do so," Breed said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Mayor Breed’s office for comment but has yet to receive a response.
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Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick and Hannah Ray Lambert contributed to this report.
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