Sideshow in San Francisco's Sunset District under police investigation
SAN FRANCISCO - A raucous sideshow in a sleepy San Francisco neighborhood has a city supervisor calling for more police officers to respond to incidents like these. Neighbors are also speaking out.
What we know:
Neighborhood residents tell KTVU city crews have already been out to clean the intersection, but you can still see tire marks left in the intersection by that sideshow.
At 12:45 a.m. Sunday, the sound of screeching tires startled neighbors near the intersection of Lawton and 42nd Avenue.
Chaotic night
What they're saying:
Abe Lee lives on the corner and said the show outside his window was wild and chaotic.
"I'm truly shocked no one got killed because they were literally jumping in front of the cars as the cars were doing their donuts," said Lee. "So, I'm shocked and amazed that it exists at all."
Neighbors say the show went on for about 20 minutes. A camera in the area captured the moment San Francisco police broke up the show. "It was about 20 minutes for them to come out," Lee said. "It was kind of surprised how long it took for them to get out here just because it was one in the morning and I couldn't believe there was a lot going on."
Normally quiet neighborhood
Supervisor Joel Engardio from the Sunset said sideshows in the normally quiet neighborhood are unacceptable.
"Unacceptable behavior," said Supervisor Engardio. "It endangers lives, it upset the residents and pets, and it makes the city come and clean up the streets. So, it's just unacceptable and we can't have this in the Sunset or San Francisco."
San Francisco police confirm officers responded to the side show and successfully flushed vehicles from the area. The department said officers gathered evidence and investigators are following leads on suspected drivers; those drivers could have their vehicles impounded if caught.
Officer shortage
In a social media post, Supervisor Engardio said many of the city's officers were responding to multiple emergencies throughout the city, and that the department's officer shortage means Taraval Station has 55 officers assigned to it, down from 120 six years ago.
He said the department is currently recruiting new officers, and new technology is helping to track down sideshow participants, but he said there are also low-tech solutions to discourage sideshows that he'd like to see employed.
Other solutions
"There are simple things that are called donut speed bumps that do not impact the flow of normal traffic, but you can't do a donut because it's going to hit the car," said Supervisor Engardio. "Those are things we should be installing if we see an uptick in sideshows."
Supervisor Engardio isn't the only supervisor keeping an eye out for sideshows. Supervisor Danny Sauter is also working on legislation, specifically crafted to help address illegal motorcycle stunt shows, as part of a broader effort to put the brakes on sideshows once and for all.
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