San Francisco officials plan to dismiss cases against 79 of the 81 teenagers encircled and arrested Saturday night for allegedly rioting during the annual Dolores Park “hill bomb,” Mission Local has learned.
Parents, reached Friday evening, said they had not received official confirmation, but had been told by the Public Defender’s Office to expect the cases to be dismissed.
“We heard that they don’t need to show up for the appointments, and that cases are not being pursued,” added Rachel Lederman, the civil rights attorney who has been in contact with dozens of parents for possible civil rights suits against the city.
The Juvenile Probation Department did not immediately confirm the dismissed cases. Parents have received conflicting information from probation officers; some say to expect dismissals, others that investigations are still ongoing.
Mission Local learned from four sources close to the charging process that the city plans to drop cases against 79 of the teenagers.
The teenagers had not yet been formally accused, but were cited for misdemeanor rioting, failure to disperse, and conspiracy.
Sophia, a mother of a 16-year-old boy, said she was heartened by the news. “You always want your kid to have one less thing to worry about. … It makes me feel a little less afraid.”
It is unclear if, or when, the city would make an announcement on the dropped cases. Juvenile criminal justice matters are highly confidential, and officials are prohibited from disclosing information about a minor’s criminal record, or lack thereof.
A total of 117 people were arrested in connection with the Dolores hill bomb on July 8, according to the San Francisco Police Department. The hill bomb is an annual tradition where skateboarders “bomb” Dolores Street by skating fast downhill.
Eighty-one juveniles and 32 adults were booked for rioting and related charges, one adult for resisting arrest, and another adult who was cited and released on-scene. It is unclear why two of those minors will not see their cases dropped.
Additionally, two other juveniles face charges from an alleged assault on a police sergeant, the incident that initiated the riot response. According to the police department, a 16-year-old boy spit on a sergeant, the sergeant attempted to arrest him, and a 15-year-old girl interfered. The sergeant then “suffered lacerations to the face,” the police said, during the altercation.
Video of the incident shows the 16-year-old being grabbed by multiple officers and pushed to the ground as the girl yells, “Get off him!” Photos of the injury suffered by the sergeant show a small cut to the forehead. The Police Department did not say whether a weapon was recovered at the scene.
Those two teenagers still have court dates.
At least one of the 34 adults had their case dropped, but the status of the rest is unclear; the District Attorney’s Office said it would handle charges on a case-by-case basis. Witnesses said the majority of the 34 arrestees were teenagers and young adults.
SFPD arrests preceded teenage violence, vandalism
Police shut down the hill bomb Saturday evening, leading crowds to scatter across Dolores Park. The injury suffered by the sergeant led to dispersal orders, police said. Witnesses said the teenage crowd reacted to the arrests of the two teens by throwing glass bottles and setting off fireworks.
The officers then charged into the crowds over the next two hours, shuffling skaters and spectators across various blocks. At one point, the teenagers vandalized a Muni tram and bus, inflicting $70,000 worth of damages, a Muni spokesperson said.
All of those acts occurred after the initial police response, however, and witnesses said they were a reaction to the riot-control tactics employed by the officers.
The bulk of the arrested teenagers were detained between lines of officers on 17th Street, held on the ground for hours while their parents nearby demanded their immediate release. The teenagers were instead zip-tied and transported to Mission Station, a block away, for processing well into the night. They were released one by one, the last at 4:15 a.m.
Parents have vowed civil rights suits against the city. Many spoke at the Police Commission hearing on Wednesday expressing outrage at the treatment of their children; commissioners promised an investigation into the police actions.
At least two teenagers said they were never read their rights, a violation of police policy. Several teenagers said they were kept from using a bathroom during their detention, another violation, and that teenagers wet themselves as a result. Others said they were thirsty, hungry, and panicked.
Police Chief Bill Scott, for his part, has defended the actions of his officers in subduing those who “brazenly engaged in reckless and dangerous behavior and violated the law.” The San Francisco police union praised the “restraint” of officers.
Chief Scott promised to release body-camera footage of the hill bomb incident and a full report at next week’s Police Commission hearing. Parents said they would return to City Hall then.
Kevin Ortiz, the co-president of the San Francisco Latinx Democratic Club — who has been communicating with several parents and organized a rally on their behalf this past week — said the lack of prosecutions showed the police overstepped in arresting the teenagers in the first place.
“While the club is relieved at 79 youth not being charged, it clearly demonstrates that SFPD had no reasonable justification for these juvenile arrests other than wanting to show force on children,” he said.
Additional reporting by Lydia Chavez.
Those wishing to contact the Juvenile Division of the Public Defender’s Office can call 415-753-7601 or visit their website.
Correction: A previous version of this article attributed the decision to drop cases to the District Attorney’s Office. The DA’s office said the Juvenile Probation Department has purview over the juvenile misdemeanor cases. We regret the error.
Dropping the charges doesn’t mean the arrests were unwarranted nor illegal nor “a violation of rights.” The DA is allowed to use their discretion on cases in many circumstances.
Joshua & Paulie.. well said!!👌🎯
It does not excuse the vandalism of the J-Church train or other property if this happened during or after the confrontation with the SFPD. Protestors to not get a free “smash sh*t up” get out of jail card because they think the SFPD were heavy-handed. Mission Local, have you investigated the damage done to the J-Church train and whether anyone is being investigated for those crimes? Is there any video evidence? As for the skaters, I think it sets a bad precedent that any group gathered in large enough numbers feel they can decide to take over public streets for any purpose, let alone risky high-stakes downhill skateboarding. This kind of thing happens too much in SF. I saw it this weekend with a car club take over on Mission St. between 24th and 25th. Cool cars, but SFPD had to get car people to move their vehicles out of clearly marked bus zone.
It’ll be interesting to see if civil rights suits are pursued in spite of the majority of cases against the “kettled” being dropped. “Oops, my bad” on the part of the police could be construed as a damned chary panacea.
My 18 year old girl was arrested, but prior to that shot in the face with a shotgun by probably a been bag round. She was walking to go home, and was mobbed by riot gear covered SFPD. I have a video of her getting shot, its not amazing but you can tell.
Dan too bad that your daughter didnt have the common sense to avoid such a foolish ‘event’. Hopefully you or any of these kids parents make a dime off of this & teach your kids to show respect for law enforcement. There are 2 sides to every story.
Just a note, adults 18 and 19 are teenagers too. So the number of teenagers arrested is probably higher than the 81 juveniles that were arrested.
Whoops. SFPD cops still continue to blatantly violate g.o.s. with a flair. Looks like those supers still have no idea how to tell their booboos how to get it done right. Extra pay? Your tax dollars at work. Bill “I Love L.A.” Scott? LOL. Commish Max? Tell SFPD how to get it done. Fire. Him. Just don’t hire Honey Denise as the chief. Derrick Jackson, yep.
SequoiaMo…SFPD did a great job!! As a parent I would not allow my kids to even be in the area. These kids were given plenty of warnings to leave the area! Instead they chose to act like entitled, bratty, disrespectful little punks. I hope they got on film the punks that damaged the Muni cars.
The Juvenile Probation Department just sent a loud and clear message that it is OK to spit on cops, set fires, throw rocks, and take over several city blocks. They also apparently think it’s no big deal that MUNI was vandalized. I guess no one should be surprised – after all, SF supports addiction and its associated crime. The juvenile delinquents are getting good training.
I can’t understand the parents – my family would have had me scrubbing buses till every bit of graffiti was gone, and then I’d be grounded until I finished high school.
Oh? So you are absolute, 100% certain beyond any doubt that Every Single One of those 79 kids who the DA has concluded are not guilty and should not have been attacked or arrested is, in fact, actually guilty? Guilty of what, precisely? And no generalizations… “collective guilt” is not a thing, individual charges against specific persons are the only ones that can ever be valid or legitimate… so enlighten us. Step through each and every one of the 79 and disclose exactly what crime each one committed, since you seem to have total awareness via clairvoyance or something. Or perhaps you should hand your information over to the DA’s office. You seem to know more about what those kids did than the DA does, after all. Maybe they’ll appreciate your help.