Despite San Francisco police urging skaters to stay away from Dolores Park today, the annual hill bombing event went ahead — and was quieter than expected.
Skaters attending the highly anticipated hill bomb skipped the heavily barricaded Dolores Street hill and instead rolled through the park before taking on the steeper Church Street. There was no sign of the police clashes that marked last year’s downhill edition.
One fight between a skater and a spectator began and ended quickly after members of the audience intervened. Several skaters fell and one was left sitting on the sidewalk, assisted by volunteer medics, to treat a bloody gash on his head.
Paramedics took at least one skater to the hospital. Shortly after 8 p.m., a young man lost control at the bottom of the church and crashed, apparently hitting his head on the raised curb. Firefighters rushed to him and placed him on a stretcher. He threw his hands up in bravado as he was wheeled into the ambulance. The crowd up and down the hill cheered.
More than 100 San Francisco police officers had closed the park to downhill skating in the hours before the skaters arrived, zigzagging barricades along the sidewalks and blocking intersections along Dolores Street. Officers manned the barriers and police cars circled the park.
So skaters chose an area with less police: the park itself, before heading to the steeper Church Street on the other side of Dolores.
“Everybody stay out of the way! Don’t cross!” shouted Chris Long, a veteran skater who urged the crowd lining the church to leave room for those hurtling downhill.
Skaters zoomed down the street at breakneck speed, while the crowd screamed and clapped. When a skater was safely down, the crowd erupted in applause; when they crashed, the crowd groaned.
“It’s a bit like playing pinball in real life,” said Amire Lofton, an experienced downhill skater who has competed in several hill bombs.
Personal loudspeakers blasted music, teenagers and twenty-somethings poured drinks into plastic cups and began drinking Modelos and other light beers, and photographers and reporters ran around hoping to capture a magical photo.
The annual event typically draws hundreds of skaters and spectators to the park in the summer. It’s dangerous and has led to serious head injuries, a coma and one death in the past. And last year, police surrounded and arrested 113 youths after crowd members tagged buildings and Muni vehicles and threw cans and bottles at officers.
The mass arrest resulted in a class action civil rights lawsuit that is still ongoing. Teenagers arrested by police allege that officers violated their constitutional rights and abused them by holding them for hours into the night.
But there were no confrontations tonight. By 9:30 p.m., the crowd along Church Street had thinned. Someone was playing slow guitar music as a few skaters made their final descent down the hill. Police cut the zip ties holding the barricades together shortly before 10 p.m. and reopened the roads.
A handful of officers walked down the street, giving high-fives to a number of skaters.
Police began the day well prepared: barricades were set up in clusters along Dolores Street on Saturday morning, and shortly after 3 p.m. officers began stringing together barricades to block roads and sidewalks.
Around 5 p.m., skaters began heading downhill along the central walkway in Dolores to avoid the barriers. Two park ranger vehicles and metal barricades were spread across the area, forcing skaters to duck and dodge the obstacles as they made tight turns. Lofton was often on his board as he bombed down the small stretch.
“It feels fun, but not as fun as I want it to be. It’s still blocked off, the police are checking everything,” Lofton said. “It’s not what it used to be … skaters should be out there riding hills and having fun, and not worrying about the police.”
Omar Arroyo, 24, who was there for the first time, had a different view.
“It’s crazy man, I love obstacles too,” he said after skating shirtless for several times, panting as he gulped down water and cheered on others skating down it. “I love riding through shit, just dodging.”
Aaron Breetwor, a skating advocate who has been pushing city officials to approve the event, handed out two dozen helmets to people in the park. The skaters were elated. “Stay safe!” one shouted. “That’s a cool helmet,” said another, put it on and skated back down.
“I’ve never worn a helmet in my life,” said another.
The park rangers largely ignored the skaters while they were in the park, although around 4 p.m. two rangers arrested a young man for allegedly obstructing one of their vehicles. He said he was not a skater and did not have a skateboard, and was confused about why he was being pulled over. They walked him down the hill as the crowd booed him, and held him for about 10 minutes before ticketing him and releasing him. He refused to give a name.
Crowds of people had gathered in the shade beneath the palm trees to watch. They cheered and clapped when novice skaters showed a little courage and jumped on a board to go downhill; the short stretch was more inviting to beginners than Dolores or Church Streets. Dogs occasionally barked and chased skaters, causing them to abandon ship and run off their boards.
The police largely stayed on the sidelines and left the skaters alone, but stayed close enough to intervene if any trouble arose.
Additional reporting by Kelly Waldron.
