San Francisco police shut down a skateboarding event, arrested 32 adults and cited 81 minors in the Mission District on Saturday, but participants and supporters protested the response.
On Saturday night, dozens of skateboarders took part in the Dolores Hill Bomb, a popular annual skateboarding event near Dolores Street. Officers described the event as unpermitted, non-sanctioned and one that has previously taken over streets and caused property damage.
To prepare for the event, police placed barricades on Dolores Street and deployed additional officers to Mission Street for "public safety concerns" and "crowd control."
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"The event has previously resulted in injuries and on one occasion a death due to the inherently dangerous actions made at high speeds," reads a press release from the San Francisco Police Department.
The police response was met with protests and resulted in several arrests and citations.
Officers said they first received reports of fireworks being set off and vandalism near Cumberland and Dolores streets at 6:15 p.m.
"Officers responded to the area and assisted residents in accessing their homes because they were afraid for their safety," said police.
At 7:10 p.m., an officer attempting to assist a resident with entering their home was approached by a 16-year-old boy who allegedly spat in his face. As the officer tried to detain the boy, a 15-year-old girl allegedly tried to interfere, and the officer received lacerations to his face.
Both teens were detained and arrested, and the boy was transported to the hospital for an injury.
Police said that the crowd began throwing ignited fireworks, smoke bombs, glass bottles and metal cans at officers while the arrest was taking place.
At 7:15 p.m., officers made a verbal announcement for the crowd to leave the area, since the "unlawful assembly" turned violent. People allegedly kept lighting fireworks in Dolores Park, which prompted fires and called the San Francisco Fire Department to the area.
Dolores Park was then closed to disperse people out of the area.
Police then responded to reports of a gunshot at 18th and Church streets, where an occupied MUNI vehicle was stopped in its tracks due to a crowd blocking the street. Officers said they saw the light rail vehicle being vandalized, and multiple people climbed on top of it. A second MUNI vehicle was reportedly vandalized at 17th and Church streets, and crowds remained in the area.
At 8:12 p.m., a group of 200 skaters began removing police barricades at 18th and Dolores streets, and a group of people stopped a third MUNI light rail and began vandalizing it, according to police.
Officers decided to issue a mass arrest of the crowd at Dolores and Guerrero streets at 8:35 p.m. Many of those arrested were minors, and officers seized multiple firearms, unignited fireworks and narcotics paraphernalia.
There were no reports of injury from arrests, other than a boy being transported to the hospital for medical treatment for intoxication, said police.
32 adults were arrested and booked on suspicion of causing a riot, being present at an unlawful assembly and conspiracy. 81 juveniles were also cited and released.
"This dangerous and unlawful behavior put members of the public and our officers at risk of serious injury or worse," said San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott. "This behavior will not be tolerated in our city and I thank our officers for taking action to hold those accountable who brazenly engaged in reckless and dangerous behavior and violated the law. Thankfully, there were no serious injuries."
San Francisco police received criticism a day following the incident.
San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston responded on Twitter Sunday, calling the clash an "attack on our youth." He called the police's force a "abuse of power, waste of money and trauma for our young people."
The Harvey Milk Democratic Club was also critical of the police department as they released a statement on social media Sunday.
The group said in part it was "outraged by the large scale show of force by police in military gear against teenagers at Dolores Park." It is demanding an independent investigation into the arrests and police response.
