SFPD forensic artist's work on display at National Law Enforcement Museum

San Francisco police sketch artist to debut artwork in national exhibit

Longtime San Francisco police officer Joe Lynch describes himself as the "Swiss Army knife of CSI," because he can do it all.

SAN FRANCISCO - Longtime San Francisco police officer Joe Lynch describes himself as the "Swiss Army knife of CSI," because he’s done it all.

"Pretty much every type of crime that there is," Lynch, a forensic artist, told KTVU. "He’s put in years as a patrol officer starting back in 1997, but what he’s known for is using his keen eye to sketch suspects from witness descriptions.

"The sketches here," said Lynch while flipping through a book of his suspect sketches, "It was a stabbing that occurred at AT&T Park and after a ball game and I think it was one of Barry Bonds’s historic home runs."

After drawing suspects in many high-profile crimes over the years, which he can’t discuss, Lynch would retire from SFPD in 2022, but his desire to use his talents to make a difference, would see him return to duty part-time this June.

His portfolio includes creating images of people who’ve been missing for years, and his creativity has led to an untold number of arrests, helping crime victims find closure, which never gets old.

"Oh, it makes you feel like you’re walking on clouds," said Lynch.

When he’s not fighting crime, he’s creating artwork for professional sports teams, including the San Jose Sharks, and an award-winning piece of art featuring San Francisco Giants legend Willie Mays.

But it’s his acrylic artwork of a 1953 SFPD Harley-Davidson motorcycle outside a coffee shop, that’s one of only fifty pieces of art done by officers from around the country, chosen to be on exhibit at the National Law Enforcement Museum in the nation’s capital.

"It’s a big deal," said Lynch. "Because that museum is where the memorial for police officers is and where every officer killed in the line of duty, their name is written on a wall."

And here’s what he wants those who see his creation to understand.

"Us as police officers, we’re just human beings," said Lynch. "If I didn’t have art in my life, I wouldn’t have been able to get through some of the harder times in my career. It always helped me to de-stress."

The motorcycle art will be on display in Washington, DC from Saturday, September 28, through August 2025.

The actual motorcycle is on display at the SFPD crime lab.

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