The police response to an annual skateboarding event in San Francisco's Mission District over the weekend has sparked a heated debate where even some participants are saying it has gotten out of control.
Police from the SFPD Mission Station and elsewhere responded to the increasingly unruly crowd after the arrest of a teen set off additional confrontations. Officers outfitted in riot gear and carrying tear gas and batons arrived to break up the crowd. Hundreds gathered ignored the orders to disperse. Fireworks set off in Dolores Park started fires. SFFD arrived on scene to extinguish the fires and the park was ordered closed as groups of vandals attacked occupied SF Muni streetcars.
"The helmets went on, and rightfully so. No officer is going to stand to protect the public without protective equipment while people were throwing bottles and whatever else they were doing and explosives," said Scott."And they should not be expected to do that. "We're not seeing skateboards. We're seeing chaos causers," said Costello."People outside our core group are taking over our event."
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