UCSF Mourns Campus Police Detective

Edson Veloro

UCSF is remembering the life of a dedicated campus police officer who was killed in a motor vehicle accident in the early morning of October 23.

UCSF Police Officer Edson Veloro, 32, was involved in a fatal accident shortly after midnight. UCSF Public Safety Dispatcher Art Dragon also was in the car when the accident occurred and was admitted to San Francisco General Hospital with serious injuries. Both were off duty at the time.

The accident is under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.

“Officer Veloro was an outstanding, well-respected member of the UCSF Police Department,” said UCSF Police Chief Pamela Roskowski. “This is a tragic loss for us as a department and as professional colleagues and friends. Our hearts go out to his family.”

Art Dragon

Detective Veloro joined the UCSF Police Department as a police officer in October 2002 after two years as a member of the San Francisco County Sheriff’s Office. He served as a patrol officer and police detective. He was honored as the 2008 UCSF Police Department Employee of the Year in recognition of his outstanding service to UCSF.

In July 2004, Veloro also received the University of California Police Department Meritorious Service Medal for exercising exceptional judgment, restraint, and professionalism while apprehending a subject armed with a knife. He received several commendations for his investigative work and was known as one of the department’s most proactive and hardest working officers.

Edson Veloro was born and raised in San Francisco. He was a loving and dedicated father of three children — two daughters and a son. He was an avid San Francisco sports fan, and in his spare time coached his son’s basketball team. Edson’s father, Edgardo Veloro, is a Security Officer serving with the UCSF Police Department Security Services Division.

Edson also is survived by his mother, brother, and a large extended family.

A memorial fund has been set up for the family of Edson Veloro. The title of the account is Relief Fund for Edson Veloro and may be directed to the San Francisco Police Credit Union, 2550 Irving St., San Francisco, CA 94122. The phone number is 415/558-5725.

Roskowski said the department also is offering support to the family of dispatcher Dragon, who at the time of this release remains in critical condition in San Francisco General Hospital. Dragon, 39, joined the UCSF Police Department in August 2007 as a public safety dispatcher assigned to the 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Center on the Swing Shift.