San Francisco police chief applauded during apology to Muslim community

Bay City News Service
Posted: 04/02/2010 04:56:44 PM PDT
Updated: 04/02/2010 08:14:56 PM PDT

San Francisco police Chief George Gascon was greeted with applause this afternoon by hundreds of members of the local Muslim community after offering a public apology for statements he made last week on terrorism.

"I am very sorry that I offended you," Gascon told the audience — many of whom were from the local Yemeni, Afghan and Pakistani communities — following their afternoon prayer service, held in a downtown hotel conference hall in order to accommodate the crowd.

"That was never my intent," he said.