As they do most every year, Mission District revelers blasted music, danced in the streets, and set off hundreds of fireworks at intersections across the neighborhood to celebrate July 4.
And, like clockwork, San Francisco police officers rushed the crowds again this year, ordering them to disperse a little before 11 p.m. and then giving chase.
“You have four minutes to leave the area,” Lt. Manny Bonilla, who earlier this week became the acting captain of Mission Station, said at 10:49 p.m. He was speaking through an SUV-mounted loudspeaker to about 200 people gathered at 26th Street and Treat Avenue, by Garfield Park.
“Leave now!” he commanded, surrounded by dozens of police officers and sheriff’s deputies, and at least 15 vehicles. “You are subject to arrest. Force may be used.”
The crowd, a block away and surrounded by noisemakers and revelrous shouting, could hear nothing.
The police and deputies then sprinted down the street at 10:58 p.m., batons ready and yelling “Go!” and “Move, move!”
The crowd seemed to hold its ground for a moment while officers ran towards them; a large white firework burst in front of them and temporarily shielded the police from view.
Several people unhurriedly walked away, while others stood defiant on the crosswalk, waiting. Stragglers set off half a dozen fireworks and shouted “Fuck off!” as the officers charged.
Then everyone fled, leaving behind ashes, beer bottles, and burnt fireworks boxes. Sheriff’s deputies aimed less-lethal rifles, and one shot his at least three times after a firework was launched into the officers’ scrum.
A woman ran up to the police and said she had lost track of some children and was going to go looking for them, but the officers held her back. “It’s not gonna happen,” one said repeatedly until another person escorted her away.
One man was detained in handcuffs and led away by three officers. The San Francisco Police Department, in a statement, said the man was taken into custody after “officers developed probable cause to arrest the adult male who was in possession of a firearm.”
The department said it issued dispersal orders “due to illegal fireworks being ignited and shot toward officers.” Police had been monitoring the crowds for hours beforehand, including with an aerial drone.
The cat-and-mouse game that often happens on July 4, in which police officers rush and hold corner after corner, chasing the crowds, began: Police declared another unlawful assembly at 24th and Harrison streets at 11:33 p.m.
About 30 people had been shooting off fireworks, albeit a fraction of the size of those earlier on Treat. Officers threatened them with arrest, and the fireworks immediately ceased.
But after that, the crowds dissipated into smaller and smaller groups, flocking into taquerias like Vallarta and El Farolito. Groups of officers congregated on corners, and police SUVs patrolled the streets. Pop’s Bar and Rubin’s Market liquor store hosted late stayers.
Garfield Park is the usual spot for the Mission’s Fourth of July. Before officers arrived, crowds had been lighting fireworks for hours while listening to the likes of “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar and “Soak City” by 310babii.
One of the main attractions of the night, other than the pyrotechnics, was a young man in a Batman costume, who drew a crowd of fans chanting his name and raising their arms for selfies.
But within a few minutes of The Dark Knight’s arrival, the police had rolled up.
Elsewhere in the neighborhood and across the city, smaller groups set off fireworks late into the night. The police appeared largely unconcerned with them.
Dirt bikers roamed around the neighborhood. At least two Waymo autonomous vehicles were briefly trapped by fireworks, much to the enjoyment of onlookers, who sandwiched one between explosions until they grew bored. After dozens of attempts, it eventually turned around and made its way back down 26th Street.
Before midnight, street-washing trucks with the Department of Public Works began spraying the road, rinsing away the detritus.
The usual deplorables and morons..
no, i didn’t see any Maga supporters
The cops? Absolutely.
I’m sorry, but illegal fireworks cannot be tolerated. The possible fires and damages are too great. This time I’m on the side of the police who tried to stop these people.
I would love to know how much money SF spends dealing with illegal fireworks on the 4th in terms of extra cops on duty, the cost of cleaning up all the trash these AHs leave behind on the streets, and any other costs associated with these celebrations.
Would be easy to just NOT send the cops to beat the sh** out of the community. Just let people have their time.
Happy to have left town again and missed this chaos. The usual clowns “celebrating” covering our neighborhood with even more trash.
Campers,
It sounds like a pretty cool party and your pictures of the cops are fabulous.
No one has mentioned that this could be the Country’s last celebration of our Democracy as it appears likely that your photos will be used by Trump to prove that San Francisco is in a state of insurrection which will allow him to cancel the mid-term elections that look to surely flip both houses of Congress.
And, looks like Lurie gave us another Greg Corrales.
go Niners !!
h.
God I love living in Tijuana! How much better can this get? I can’t wait for the cartels and kidnappings. Let’s go. You guys can do better. Where’s the real violence? This is kiddie stuff.
This is where we live. You think it’s too tame? You are welcome to find your bliss.
If I’d wanted a press release from the cops, I would have looked one up. Kiss the boot with less tongue next time, please.
Rusty —
I’m sorry that the on-the-scene reporting doesn’t comport with your preferred worldview.
JE
Joe you can’t be neutral on a moving train. I know you’ve read your Zinn.
This isn’t reporting though. Reporting would include following up and asking who issued this militarized, coordinate assault on our community at a time when Federal Agents are terrorizing our immigrant neighbors. Reporting would including acknowledging that this response IS DIFFERENT than every other year. Reporting would include knowing that this was the ENTIRE MISSION. I’m at 20th St near Potrero. Cops came down three ways to push people towards Mission. It would include that cops over on this side threatened violence for even touching a police car. Reporting would include being critical of the response, especially as we continue our deep descent into fascism. Reporting would directly tie this militarized response to the increased police budget Lurie is passing. Reporting would include naming Michael Moritz as the funder of that surveillance drone that was launched. Reporting would include CONTEXT. This reporting has none. It reads as if it is just another July the 4th. It was not. It was clearly a drill by SFPD issued by someone at the top, Lurie?, to demonstrate what’s to come for anyone who is too rowdy or is protesting in ways the state deems unacceptable. I’ve lived in this same spot for over 20 years. Every year there is a fireworks display. Every year the police respond (at least in the Mission they do). And previously, SFPD’s response (while at times not the best) DID NOT INCLUDE MILITARIZED FORMATIONS WITH BATONS AT THE READY for what ostensibly is a free community event.