Update: San Francisco police arrest dozens in riot after shutting down Dolores Street hill bomb
SAN FRANCISCO -- Police in riot gear arrested 32 adults and cited over 80 juveniles Saturday evening in the melee that broke out after authorities shut down the annual "Dolores Hill Bomb" by San Francisco's Dolores Park.
Police responded to the site of the yearly event featuring skaters riding down the steep hill on Dolores Street alongside the park early Saturday evening. At one point, police in riot gear with batons out blocked intersections to shut down the unsanctioned event.
Skateboarders and onlookers were confronted by the police. In video from the Bay Area News Group, what appear to be fireworks and possibly bottles being thrown can be seen during the confrontation.
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The San Francisco Police Department issued a press release Sunday morning detailing their response to the incident. Police said officers from the Mission Station first responded at 6:15 p.m. after initial reports of fireworks being set off and vandalism came in with some area residents saying they feared for their safety and were unable to get to their homes, according to the SFPD.
Just under an hour later, police said a confrontation between a male teen and a police sergeant where the 16-year-old allegedly spat on the sergeant. As he attempted to detain the male suspect, the sergeant was assaulted. He suffered lacerations to his face and was transported to an area hospital for treatment. Police said they detained two suspects, identified as a 16-year-old male and 15-year-old female.
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Police said the female was arrested for delaying/resisting arrest, while the male suspect was arrested for aggravated assault, violence against an officer, assault and battery, delaying/resisting arrest, conspiracy, and crimes involving a juvenile. The male suspect suffered an injury that was non-life-threatening and was also transported to the hospital for treatment. He was later booked into the Juvenile Justice Center.
During the arrest, police said the gathered crowd of skateboarders and onlookers began to throw ignited fireworks, smoke bombs, glass bottles and metal cans at officers, police said. Police issued an order for the crowd to disperse at that time, but people continued to ignite fireworks in Dolores Park, which started fires. SFFD arrived on scene to extinguish the fires and the park was ordered closed to clear the crowds, according to police.
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At approximately 7:35 p.m. as crowds began to move out of the park, there were reports of gunshots at 18th and Church streets near an occupied SF Muni light rail vehicle on the J-Church line which was stopped due to the crowd blocking the street. Arriving officers saw the streetcar being vandalized and several people climbed on top of the vehicle, putting themselves at risk of falling and touching the high voltage electrical equipment.
Officers continued their efforts to disperse the crowds, which fled in various directions. A second occupied SF Muni vehicle was also vandalized at 17th and Church Streets, police said. Despite repeated orders to disperse from the area, crowds remained around Dolores Park with some people igniting fireworks and vandalizing property.
According to police, at around 8:12 p.m., a group of approximately 200 people with skateboards gathered at 18th and Dolores streets and started to remove the barricades placed by officers while ignoring dispersal orders. Police said one group approached a third occupied SF Muni at the intersection, forcing it to stop and vandalizing the vehicle.
Shortly after 8:30 p.m., police said they followed the group to 17th Street and detained the crowd between Dolores and Guerrero Streets, where authorities decided to conduct a mass arrest "to stop the ongoing unlawful assembly and destruction of property."
A video showed officers surrounding the crowd, closing in on them until police got dozens of people to kneel or sit down on the ground.
During the arrests, officers located and seized multiple firearms left at the scene in addition to unignited fireworks and narcotics paraphernalia. A majority of those arrested were juveniles. During the arrests, one juvenile suspect was transported to an area hospital for medical treatment for intoxication. No other injuries were reported during the arrests.
Police said a total of 32 adults were arrested and booked at San Francisco County Jail on charges of inciting a riot, remaining present at an unlawful assembly and conspiracy. One adult was cited and released for resisting arrest and a second adult was cited and released for inciting a riot, remaining present at an unlawful assembly and conspiracy.
According to SFPD, 81 juveniles were cited and released for inciting a riot, remaining present at an unlawful assembly and conspiracy.
"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."
Police said the incident remained under an open and active investigations. Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD 24-hour Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
