San Francisco Mayor London Breed unveils new penalties aimed at cracking down on sideshows
San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Friday announced new legislation that would increase the penalties against individuals participating in dangerous sideshows on city streets.
The legislation that was announced by Breed and SF Supervisor Matt Dorsey would combat sideshow activity with increased criminal penalties for people who both plan and participate in sideshows and the stunt driving associated with the incidents. The announcement was made during a press event Friday at San Francisco Police Department Headquarters with Breed and Dorsey standing alongside law enforcement leaders from the SFPD, the offices of the Alameda County Sheriff and the San Francisco Sheriff and the California Highway Patrol.
Breed and Dorsey plan to introduced the new legislation on Tuesday. It would establish new criminal penalties making it illegal to promote a sideshow online, to participate in assembling for a sideshow such as using vehicles to block streets in preparation for such an event, and to impede law enforcement from stopping sideshow activity.
"This will help our officers, who are already tracking these efforts online, and hopefully deter people from organizing them in the first place," Breed said. "So if you are an organizer, we are coming for you, too."
The law would also extend the length of time the city can hold a vehicle seized in a sideshow beyond 30 days if the District Attorney is charging in the case and allows for the permanent seizure of the vehicle if there is a conviction.
The crimes outlined in the new legislation will all be misdemeanors, which is the highest penalty allowed under current California law.
"Recent events make it clear we must continue to send a strong message: these activities have no place in San Francisco," Dorsey was quoted as saying in the release about the legislation. "Our streets belong to the community, and we will take every measure necessary to ensure the safety of all residents."
The mayor also highlighted the issues that law enforcement is having with dirt-bike riders traveling in packs and breaking traffic laws.
"Now it's one thing to just ride your dirt bike along the city streets, stop at the stop signs and follow the laws and the rules of the road," Breed said. "It's a whole 'nother thing when you see these dirt bikes ride in large numbers on sidewalks, barely missing pedestrians as they walk, and running red lights to a point where vehicles are trying to avoid hitting people on dirt bikes."
A large group of motorcyclists roared through the Mission District early Sunday evening, doing wheelies on Valencia Street and at one point halting traffic at the busy intersection of Mission St. and 24th.
SF resident Sharky Laguana, who also serves on the city's Homelessness Oversight Commission, was trying to enjoy dinner with his family this past weekend at Sanguchon Eatery on Valencia Street near 23rd in the Mission. But he and his family were interrupted by dirt bikes for more than an hour.
"The more time that went by, the more upsetting it became to the people that were working in the restaurant, the other diners, the restaurant started to smell like burnt rubber," he explained.
Laguana's friend was also hit by one of the motorcyclists.
"He said his wife was driving in a car with two children in the car, and one of these motorcycles collided with the back of the car, smashing the back window," Laguana said.
"When I see that, I got to be honest, I don't even go outside," said Sanguchon general manager Juan Sedan. "I don't want to risk it, seriously."
For Sedan, who has worked at Sanguchon for more than three years, he said these sideshows have become far too common.
"Lately? I would say probably like 10 times already," Sedan said. "People don't want to come in, because they are scared to see that."
He said the new legislation is a step in the right direction.
"They have to start from something to stop that, because like I said, it's getting worse and worse every time," Sedan said.
"You have to have some level of accountability. This creates that accountability," Laguana said.
The mayor said that the penalties for impeding officers trying to stop sideshow activity will be enforced on anyone physically blocking law enforcement or shining laser pointers at officers or law enforcement vehicles.
The press conference also focused on how sideshows are a regional issue in the Bay Area, with groups of participants frequently moving from one city to the next in the course of a day or evening, meaning that coordination and collaboration between law enforcement in different jurisdictions will be critical to track sideshows and stop them from happening.
These sideshows aren't specifically germane to San Francisco. They're in Alameda County. They're in the South Bay. They go back and forth. They're on the bridges and the freeways," said SFPD Chief Bill Scott. "And the bottom line is, everywhere where these events occur, there's a tremendous danger to the public and to our officers who are responding to break up these sideshows and arrest the violators."
Scott also said the department has new tools to crack down on suspects thanks to the passage of Proposition E.
"We now have a drone program. We plan to take full advantage of using that technology to enhance our ability to identify cars and people that are involved in these sideshows and more importantly seize cars and make arrests," Scott said.
The installation of an Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) system with cameras at locations across the city will also help with the sideshow crackdown.
Officials said San Francisco police have seized 67 vehicles related to sideshows and reckless evasion so far in 2024. That includes the seizure of five vehicles earlier in August involved in multiple sideshows on June 9. Those sideshows included an incident at Embarcadero and Washington where police said a vehicle was purposely set on fire.
After widespread resident complaints about the incident as well as sideshows in the Mission District that happened the same night, Scott insisted that his department would hold the participants accountable.
The seizure and impounding of the five vehicles is the first enforcement action by authorities in connection with the incident. So far, there have not been any confirmed arrests in the June 9 sideshows.
The department has documented 15 sideshows so far in 2024. In 2021, there were 72 reported sideshows. Members of the public are urged to call 911 when they witness a sideshow and share pictures and video, which police use in their investigations.
Sooji Nam also contributed to this story.