LA Times – by Alene Tchekmedyian
A renegade skateboarding event at a popular park in San Francisco’s Mission District turned into a violent standoff with police Tuesday night, with unruly crowds throwing beer bottles and skateboards at officers in riot gear, authorities said.
The confrontation began shortly after 7 p.m., when police were called to Dolores Park to aid an injured skateboarder, said San Francisco Police Officer Grace Gatpandan.
Roughly 300 onlookers had crowded the park to watch skateboarders who had taken control of a steep street zoom down the hill.
While the rider was being treated, another skateboarder raced down the pavement and collided with a police sergeant before striking and flying over a patrol car parked toward the bottom of the hill.
Video shows the rider tumble into a crosswalk before a group of people crowd around him, some shouting at the police.
Meanwhile in #SanFrancisco…#DoloresPark #SF #Dolores #Skateboarding pic.twitter.com/b9kU9KuEhB
— jimmy alto (@jimmyalto) July 12, 2017
Dolores Park doing its thing pic.twitter.com/HzCNQI6EeN
— Jack Morse (@jmorse_) July 12, 2017
The crowds became hostile and more officers were called to the scene to gain control of the crowd spilling into the street, Gatpandan said.
Vandals tagged two police cruisers with graffiti and smashed one of their windows.
Two skateboarders, along with the police sergeant, were taken to the hospital with unknown injuries. Police shut down the park, and after nearly three hours, the crowds broke up without a dispersal order, Gatpandan said.
No one was arrested during the confrontation, she added. The investigation is ongoing.
Police on Twitter had warned the public to stay away from the area due to “continued police activity” and traffic delays.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-dolores-park-skateboarders-20170711-story.html
Skateboarding is a dangerous crime and must be prohibited immediately.