A protest against police brutality in support of the San Francisco hunger strikers turned violent and costly Friday night, with protesters claiming to have been manhandled by sheriff's deputies and thousands of dollars worth of damage being done to city hall.
All told, police arrested 33 people, according to Mission Local reporter Joe Rivano Barros. City hall was also damaged, according to a spokeswoman for the building.
The protest left City Hall with smashed front windows and destroyed metal detectors, at the side facing Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place.
"Thousands of peaceful individuals have long expressed their views in protest on our front steps," City Administrator Naomi Kelly said in a statement. "However, yesterday's actions crossed the line, causing thousands of dollars in property damage and impacting weddings and elections activities."
Repairs are slated to begin Monday. The full costs of the damage won't be known until after the repairs are completed, but will likely cost thousands of dollars in labor and material costs due to the landmark status of City Hall, according to the city administrator's office.
Twitter videos of the scuffle shows sheriff's deputies in riot gear roughly holding protesters back and pushing them out of the building with batons.
One video shows a young woman screaming as a deputy pushes her towards the city hall exit, while another shows deputies dragging a man by his arms across the floor of city hall.
Barrows wrote that officers brusquely and roughly attempted to corral the crowd toward city hall's exit after it closed for the evening at about 8 p.m. More than 100 protesters were at the scene, separated into roughly two groups. Those in the smaller group, who had formed a circle and locked arms with one another inside city hall, were all arrested.
This latest action follows a string of other protests in support of hunger strikers who have vowed not to eat until Police Chief Greg Suhr resigns. Dubbed the "Frisco Five," the strikers were on Friday morning taken to the hospital after spending 16 days outside the Mission District police station.
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Police Chief Greg Suhr has previously said that he will not resign, and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has told strikers that he supports Suhr.
