Wednesday, May 2, 2012
SF Gate:
Business owners in San Francisco's Mission District, cleaning up after a night in which protesters damaged more than 30 stores and restaurants and vandalized cars, questioned Tuesday why activists had singled them out and why police hadn't done more to halt the rampage.
Among those dealing with the damage were officers at the neighborhood police station, where black-clad, masked activists threw paint and bashed the front door Monday night.
Even as they defended themselves from criticism that they had allowed the vandals to run wild - one restaurant owner said officers even appeared to be "escorting" the group - high-level police officials met to find a better way to handle out-of-control crowds.
Split from rally
The protesters split away at 9 p.m. from an Occupy rally in Dolores Park that was held in advance of Tuesday's May Day actions. Traveling down 18th Street and onto Valencia Street, they smashed windows with crowbars and signs, threw paint and eggs on buildings and spray-painted anarchy symbols on the hoods of parked cars.
"All I heard was, 'bang, bang, bang,' and some dude had the valet sign, trying to break our window," said Adam Koskoff, manager of the Locanda restaurant on Valencia. "I didn't even see the crowd, and I ran outside and got egged."
The vandals damaged restaurants, bakeries and clothing stores, along with at least 17 cars on Valencia and Guerrero streets. An expensive Aston Martin had its windshield shattered, but the protesters damaged everyday cars as well.
At the Mission police station at 17th and Valencia streets, pink and yellow paint was thrown on the barricaded glass doors, which someone cracked with a hammer or similar weapon.
"It was like the station was under siege," said an officer, who asked not to be named.
Just one arrest
Mission station Capt. Robert Moser said the vandalism had "unfolded quickly," and that 100 to 150 people had been involved.
One person was arrested on suspicion of a vehicle code violation and resisting arrest, Moser said. He was cited and released.
Some business owners said that given the extent of the damage, the arrest total should have been far higher.
J.H. Kostelni of Farina restaurant on 18th Street said he had seen squad cars at the front and the back of a group of about 30 people who threw paint and eggs at his windows and overturned his outdoor tables.
"It looked like police were escorting them," Kostelni said. "They didn't stop them."
Asked about the criticism, Moser said, "We wanted to ensure we had enough personnel for public safety and for the safety of our officers."
About 15 officers in riot gear stood guard in front of the police station Monday night, as other officers moved up and down the street, documenting the damage, leaving cards on defaced cars and speaking to business owners.
Police Chief Greg Suhr said officers had been at the Dolores Park demonstration before the violence erupted.
"This was a splinter group," he said. "They broke into a run - that's when they cracked out all the weapons and projectiles and they did all their damage. They dispersed within 15 minutes."
He added, "For us to mobilize to contend with a group of 100, especially running, takes longer than 15 minutes. ... By the time they got to the end of their run, there wasn't a group to arrest."
The chief said he was consulting with his command staff to "formulate contingency plans to make sure this doesn't happen again."
Wrong targets
Owners of vandalized businesses said they were hardly representative of the corporations targeted by Occupy activists.
"They're coming through the Mission, where there aren't any corporations, just a lot of small businesses, which is what they're all about," Koskoff said. "It doesn't make sense."
Jeremy Tooker, owner of Fourbarrel Coffee, said a friend had stopped a protester from smashing the glass storefront with a crowbar - and had taken a hit to his arm. Someone else splashed paint on the window.
"This just seems like they're frustrated with their impotency at this point," Tooker said. "It's like, 'Look at me, I'm still here, I'm still occupying.' "
Although the march sprang from a rally for an Occupy action, other Occupy protesters shunned its participants as outliers. Several said police must have been to blame, including one man dressed all in black at Tuesday's May Day protest in San Francisco, who gave his name as Banana Mouse.
"I think it was infiltrators. I don't think it was Occupy," he said. "They (the police) were instigating."
Some business people, however, said Occupy bore responsibility for the damage.
"Occupy is saying it's not them, but we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Occupy, now would we?" Michelle Horneff-Cohen, a real estate broker, said as she surveyed the broken window of her workplace, Property Management Systems.
Mayor 'shocked'
Mayor Ed Lee, who returned to the city late Monday from Seattle, said damage from the vandalism amounted to "hundreds of thousands of dollars."
"I was really shocked at the damage that was done, not only to the police station, but to the small businesses in and around that area," Lee said. "The people who hide themselves behind Occupy and then do that kind of damage are really - it's disgusting to see that. ... I think those individuals need to be found."
By Tuesday morning, business owners had boarded up or replaced shattered glass storefronts and had power-washed away egg splatters and paint spills. Some were preparing for what might come next.
"We might have to self-police this place," Tooker said. "I don't want anyone getting hurt, and we can handle broken windows. But if anything more serious happens, we might have to close."
Vivian Ho, Ellen Huet and Jaxon Van Derbeken are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Twitter: @VivianHo, @EllenHuet. vho@sfchronicle.com, ehuet@sfchronicle.com and jvanderbeken@sfchronicle.com San Francisco Chronicle staff writers John Coté and Marisa Lagos contributed to this report.
This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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