Lawsuit filed against San Francisco, police chief over Dolores Hill Bomb arrests
The city of San Francisco, its police department and several others were named in a lawsuit over the arrests that happened during the 2023 Dolores Park Hill Bomb.
The four teenaged plaintiffs in this lawsuit were among the more than 100 people arrested this summer during the Hill Bomb.
Most of the people arrested by police that day were children, and a lawsuit claims many of those children weren't even participants in the unsanctioned event.
"You want to believe that the police are there to protect our community, and I want my kids to believe that. But when things like this happen, it's a hard thing to talk to your kids about," said Naomi Lopez.
Naomi Lopez's 15-year-old daughter Carmen was one of the dozens of minors arrested the night of July 8, 2023, as police attempted to shut down the annual unsanctioned skateboarding event known as the Dolores Hill Bomb.
"We didn't believe it at first. It seemed totally incredulous that how could this be happening, and it was," said Lopez.
Related: Neighbor describes damage caused in chaos after SFPD breaks up Dolores Street hill bomb
Lopez said Carmen was simply watching the event with some friends when they were surrounded by police.
She immediately went to the area the get her daughter but said police wouldn't let her near her.
"We could just see that she and her friends and the other kids, they were kids, they were young kids, and they were terrified, they were cold," said Lopez.
Lopez said her daughter was detained for hours; her mugshot and fingerprints taken.
No charges were ever filed but Lopez said the experience was traumatizing for their entire family.
That's why they decided to sign on to a federal civil rights class action lawsuit, suing the city, the police chief and several other police personnel for what happened that night.
"The police purported to be concerned about the safety of the skateboard event, but it was the police that endangered these youth," said Rachel Lederman, lead council on the case, from the Partnership For Civil Justice Fund.
The police chief told us at the time, his officers warned the crowd for 90 minutes to leave and only put on the riot gear when fireworks and fists started being thrown their way.
Lopez told KPIX she was initially nervous to sign onto the lawsuit, but she believes the city needs to be held accountable for its actions.
"It was wrong. It was a wrong use of city resources. It was a wrong use of police resources," said Lopez.
We reached out to the city attorney for comment.
Their office told us they will review the complaint and respond in court once they are served with the lawsuit.
