A federal court on Thursday granted class-action status to a lawsuit filed by teenagers who say they were unlawfully arrested during the chaotic 2023 hill bomb at Dolores Park, paving the way for more than 100 others to potentially join the case against the city and county.
San Francisco, CA
Ruling advances lawsuit against S.F. over arrests during 2023 Dolores Park hill bomb
Skateboarders ride down Church Street at the annual hill bomb event at Dolores Park in San Francisco on Saturday, July 6, 2024.
The ruling allows approximately 113 people — including 81 minors — who were arrested on 17th Street on July 8, 2023, to join the lawsuit first filed by four teenagers in December 2023. The mass arrests concluded a night of general mayhem, marked by fireworks that sparked fires, vandalization of Muni vehicles and confiscation of several firearms around Dolores Park, according to police.
Within the chaos, innocent teenagers were swept up in detentions, the lawsuit argues. Rachel Lederman, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, called the mass arrest of children and youth an “outrageous round-up” where police arrested young adults without probable cause.
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“Then, the police held the children and youth outdoors and in vehicles for many hours as darkness fell and the night turned cold and windy,” she said in a statement. “SFPD did not provide them access to a bathroom for up to seven hours forcing desperate children to use a bucket in the street handed out by a neighbor.”
Jen Kwart, spokesperson for the city attorney, defended police, saying Friday that officers exercised appropriate crowd control to protect public safety. The city is looking forward to presenting its case in the coming months, she said.
The ruling was first reported by Mission Local.
Over at least the past decade, the informal competition has often sparked conflict with police. The hill bomb has gained notoriety in recent years after the event led to a death, a traumatic head injury and multiple skirmishes with the police. After 2023’s confrontations and arrests, the hill bomb was relatively calm in 2024 as police barricaded Dolores Street but skateboarders bombed down a different one.
This year, the event did not take place, and was instead replaced by a more formal, structured hill bomb at Twin Peaks, a largely peaceful affair.
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Two Muni trains were vandalized during the Dolores Hill Bomb in 2023.
Police were made aware of the 2023 hill bomb three weeks before the event took place, according to the lawsuit. The city sent additional officers to the area and erected barricades on the steepest part of the hill on Dolores Street. The crowd grew to approximately 200 people that night.
Police said that around 7 p.m., a 16-year-old man spat in a sergeant’s face. Police said the officer was assaulted while trying to detain the teenager and suffered lacerations to his face. Police said that during the arrest, the crowd began to throw ignited fireworks, smoke bombs, glass bottles, and metal cans at officers.
Two Muni light-rail vehicles were vandalized with graffiti, and the crowds refused to disperse and began removing barricades police had placed in the area, police said.
Around 8 p.m., after declaring the crowds an unlawful assembly, officers began making mass arrests. Plaintiffs argue they were trying to leave the area when police began corralling them for detention.
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One 15-year-old said in the lawsuit that she was trying to ride a scooter to a friend’s house and was still detained after telling officers she had nothing to do with the hill bomb.
The lawsuit alleges officers gave little information to parents who arrived to pick up their kids. Parents waited on the street for hours, and the last child was released from the Mission Police Station at 4:15 a.m., the lawsuit alleges.
The teens were cited and released for inciting a riot, remaining present at an unlawful assembly and conspiracy, police said.
Police said one minor was sent to the hospital to be treated for intoxication but “there was no other report of injury from the arrests.”
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“This dangerous and unlawful behavior put members of the public and our officers at risk of serious injury or worse,” then-police chief Bill Scott said in a statement at the time. “This behavior will not be tolerated in our city.”
The 4,140-sq-km bay is the largest estuary on the west coast of the US. Before 2018, this species of whales wasn’t known to stop seasonally or consistently in the bay, bypassing it on their migration route down to Baja California and back up the Arctic, said Josephine Slaathaug, who led a recent study on gray whale mortality in the bay.
One of San Francisco’s busiest freeways remained shut down Saturday, creating major traffic delays and dampening business for some local restaurants and shops.
All eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 just before the Bay Bridge are closed as crews work around the clock to rehabilitate the roadway. The 55-hour shutdown, which began on Friday night, is scheduled to last until Monday morning in time for the commute.
The closure has forced drivers onto detour routes, leading to heavy congestion for those trying to reach the East Bay, including Oakland and Berkeley.
The impact is being felt beyond the roadways.
At MoMo’s, a restaurant across from Oracle Park, staff found business noticeably slower.
“A little bit more mellow than usual. We usually see a little bit more foot traffic, a little bit more people on Saturdays,” said Daniel Bermudez, executive chef at MoMo’s.
Bermudez believes the freeway closure may be discouraging visitors from coming into the city this weekend, despite favorable weather.
“The weather is beautiful today. It’s nice and sunny. So we have plenty of tables outside,” he said.
With the San Francisco Giants playing an away game, the restaurant had hoped fans would still gather to watch, but turnout during game time remained light.
“This is kind of like our off-season Saturday. A lot slower than our baseball weekend,” said Casandra Alarcon, general manager at MoMo’s.
Other small businesses in the Mission Bay and South of Market neighborhoods reported similar trends, saying most of their customers are regulars who live nearby rather than visitors.
“A little bit slower for sure. Before, we had tourists come and walk to the baseball park,” said Ajaree Safron, manager at Brickhouse Cafe & Bar.
Caltrans has shut down eastbound lanes between 17th and 4th streets to repave the 71-year-old roadway. The goal is to extend the life of the Bayshore Freeway by another decade.
City and transportation officials said the timing of the closure was intentional, noting fewer major events scheduled in San Francisco this weekend, aside from the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Westbound lanes remain open, and officials said traffic heading into San Francisco from the East Bay has not been significantly affected.
“Getting into the city, it wasn’t too bad. Regular [traffic], what we expect on a Saturday morning,” said visitor Andrea Inouye.
While the closure has posed challenges for businesses, some workers said they are taking it in stride.
“Hopefully, it’s not for too long and we get past it, and get back to our normal routine,” Bermudez said.
Despite early concerns about widespread gridlock, transportation officials said the region has avoided the worst-case scenario. Traffic remains heavy in areas near detours, but the anticipated “carmageddon” has not materialized, in part because many drivers chose to avoid the area or take public transit.
Bay Area High School baseball fans are treated to a rare opportunity Saturday (April 18) with three games at Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, including the famed Bruce-Mahoney clash between West Catholic Athletic League rivals St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart Cathedral.
The first pitch of the 20th annual Dante Benedetti Baseball Classic starts at 11 a.m. and pits two more San Francisco private schools as University (9-7), winners of four straight, taking on Riordan (5-11).
That will be followed by the Bruce-Mahoney game at 2:30 between St. Ignatius (12-5, 4-2 WCAL) and the Irish (7-10, 1-5) and finished off with a North Coast Section clash between North Bay’s Marin Catholic (9-7) against Acalanes (7-6-1).
The Benedetti Classic, founded by Dante’s Boys Foundation board member Tom Lounibos and Giants president Larry Baer, benefits the DBF which honors the spirit of Benedetti who for nearly 40 years owned San Francisco’s Mr. Baseball nickname for his kindness and generosity to baseball-playing youth in the area.
Among their philanthropic efforts are glove and baseball equipment drives, field renovations and contributions to scholarships and sponsorships.
After starting the season 0-4 — three of those losses were by one run — University, under head coach Andrew Suvunnachuen, has found its way, winning the last four, all in Bay Counties League play, by a combined 51-6 count over Lick-Wilmerding (16-1 and 11-3) and San Domenico (13-2 and 11-0).
Senior catcher and pitcher Jett Messenger leads the way with a .447 average, while getting on base at a .638 rate. He also leads the team with 20 stolen bases. Junior third baseman Tate Gebhart is hitting .419, while Leo Felder and Behbart share the RBI lead with 15 each.
Junior Matthew Foley is 3-2 on the mound with a 2.38 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 17.2 innings.
Riordan, under second-year head coach Craig Sargent, was 5-5 in nonleague games but lost six straight in the rugged WCAL, losing two tough games this week to Mitty (3-2 and 7-4). Junior third baseman and pitcher Santiono Williams leads the team in batting average (.371), on-base percentage (.488) and stolen bases (nine). He’s also been the team’s top pitcher at 4-2 with a 2.84 ERA.
The teams have split two previous games in their history, with Riordan winning 2-0 in 2023 and University prevailing 5-0 in 2021.
St. Ignatius, led by ninth-year head coach Brian Pollzzie, has already secured the Bruce-Mahoney trophy with four straight wins — one each in football, girls volleyball, boys basketball and girls basketball — but this rivalry is always spirited.
The Wildcats, who are ranked fourth in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Chronicle, are coming off a tough 3-0 home loss to No. 2 St. Francis on Friday after beating the host Lancers 10-6 on Tuesday.
The team is led by Stanford-bound Archer Horn, who is hitting .486 with four home runs and a .604 on-base percentage. The shortstop and pitcher also has not allowed an earned run in three pitching appearances while registering one save.
Pitching is a team’s strength with a 2.59 ERA, led by a brigade of strong arms including Leo Rhein (2-0, 2.38), Tycco Giometti (2-1, 2.62), Charlie Stecher 1-1, 0.72) and Chase Gordon (1-0, 2.80). The team is missing standout Finn Demuth, out of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Sacred Heart Cathedral, led by fourth-year head coach Gregg Franceschi, has scored 60 runs on the season and given up 61. The Irish are coming off two losses to eighth-ranked Valley Christian (5-2 and 10-1).
They are led offensively by junior outfielder Brody O’Sullivan (.381) and senior infielder Jacob Vines (.378). Johnny Nepomuceno and Max Nylander are other run-producers. Zach Stallworth (37 strikeouts, 29.2 innings) and Cooper Rogers Lewis (0.25 ERA) have been the team’s top pitchers.
The series has been remarkably close since 2005 with Sacred Heart Cathedral holding a 27-20 edge, though St. Ignatius won both games last season (5-0 and 6-3) after the Irish won 9-7 and 1-0 in 2024.
Marin Catholic hopes to get back to winning after starting the season 9-1, but have since lost six straight, four in Marin County Athletic League play, including 4-2 to Novato on Thursday. Senior outfield Luke Martin is the team’s leading hitter at .478 while senior infielder and pitcher Cooper Mitchell is at .455. Senior infielder Walker Untermann leads the team with 15 RBIs.
Acalanes is at the other end of the spectrum, winners of five of six after a 2-5-1 start. Junior infielder Tyler Winkles, also a highly recruited quarterback in football, leads the team with a .383 average and nine stolen bases. Riley Gates (2-3, 2.49 ERA, 30 strikeouts) is the team’s top pitcher.
The teams have played three times, all since 2022, with Marin Catholic owning a 2-1 lead. Acalanes won last year’s game 8-7.
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