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Commission hears mixed praise and complaints over Halloween "nonevent" and transit closures
Summary
Officials and residents praised city coordination for a largely incident-free Halloween but several speakers alleged heavy-handed tactics, last-minute transit closures and business intimidation; Chief Fong denied threats and agreed to follow up on complaints.
San Francisco officials told the Police Commission on Nov. 7 that intensive interagency planning and redeployment of officers produced a largely incident-free Halloween in the Castro and other neighborhoods, but members of the public and some commissioners raised concerns about tactics and last-minute transit closures.
Deputy Chief Shun described a multiagency operation with multiple command posts and contingency plans that allowed the department to redeploy officers away from the Castro as crowds were smaller than in prior years. "We had developed a number of contingency plans," he said, and reported a reduction in robberies and no major injuries citywide.
Public commenters offered mixed reactions. Some residents and local-business representatives thanked police for preventing violent incidents and called the operation a success. Others said officers used excessive force or aggressive tactics toward pedestrians and that last-minute closures of Muni and the Sixteenth & Mission BART station disrupted businesses and residents. "The last-minute requests to close these stations wreaked havoc in the Mission and Castro communities," one speaker said.
Commissioners asked the chief to investigate allegations that businesses were pressured to close; Chief Fong said the decision to close certain stations was a multi-stakeholder choice made in safety briefings and denied any department threats to BART. She also said outreach materials (press releases, Muni/BART notices) were circulated and that some business closures were voluntary or encouraged by local officials.
The commission asked the department to follow up with a written clarification of steps taken around transit and business outreach and to consider a transparent review of any claims that officers or other city representatives intimidated merchants. Commissioners also emphasized the need to include affected neighborhood groups in planning for future large events.
