San Francisco Cops Arrested 32 People Over The Weekend

Remember those “Skateboarding is not a crime” t-shirts? That slogan used to pop up here and there, and in hindsight maybe it feels a little silly. Those shirts were often worn by teenagers who made some alleys in the street outside of their houses and had never really had any run-ins with the cops. Well, that slogan comes to mind now, as this past weekend police in San Francisco arrested 32 people at the Dolores Hill Bomb.

The Dolores Hill Bomb is an event that takes place in the Mission District of the Bay Area city with a name that speaks to what happens. As many streets in San Fran do, the Dolores Hill is quite the steep incline, making for a speedy, thrill-seeking ride that has long been a staple of the skate scene in the Bay Area. This year, though, the police showed up in riot gear to shut down the event. After an attempt to move it to another street, things fell apart, leading to the detainment of over 30 people. Now, this is slightly thornier than a black-and-white “cops don’t want you skating” situation. In 2020, a cyclist was killed in a collision that happened at the Dolores Hill Bomb. Once skaters are not merely risking their health, obviously the situation gets murkier. In the end, hopefully, there will be a way for the Dolores Hill Bomb to continue in a way that isn’t hazardous to those not participating, and of course, we don’t want to see dozens of skaters getting arrested either.