Police Chief Heather Fong today defended a decision made
to alter the Olympic torch route and cancel the offical ceremonies at Justin Herman Plaza.
File photo by Luke Thomas
By Ari Burack
April 10, 2008
San Francisco police Chief Heather Fong today defended the decision to abort Wednesday’s planned Olympic torch relay route in favor of a “spontaneous” path that quelled safety concerns, she said.
At a news conference this afternoon at the San Francisco Hall of Justice, Fong said that as increasingly large numbers of protesters began gathering along the waterfront route Wednesday morning, some jumping barricades and ignoring officers’ orders to disperse, and verbal clashes between opposing groups, “a decision was made that we would not take that route.”
Fong added that there were also many protesters “who had their own opinion, (and) they were peaceful.”
Fong also dismissed reports that Chinese government officials made the decision to change the route, though they were involved in prior discussions about what would happen in case of violence or if the relay route was blocked, she said.
Fong said the decision came after “weighing the potential for injury” to spectators, torchbearers and protesters.
She said an incident at about 12:30 p.m. during which a “very large group” of protesters blocked a bus that was part of the Olympic entourage “was a major factor in terms of the escalation of activities.”
According to Fong, a report came in to police that some of the protesters had been run over by the bus and were stuck underneath it, but police later discovered that was not the case.
The group had engaged in civil disobedience, she said, sitting down in front of the bus, later breaking one window and spraying removable Silly String with the words “Free Tibet” on one side of the bus.
According to several witnesses on scene at the intersection of Embarcadero and Bryant streets, the bus driver continued driving while protesters were in front of the bus and in danger of being run over.
Panic sets in when the bus continues to move forward while protesters are in front of the bus.
“The bus driver continued driving while protesters were clearly in danger of being run down,” said Luke Thomas, a photojournalist who was covering the torch relay events for FogCityJournal.com. “I am surprised police didn’t arrest the bus driver for reckless endangerment.”
The bus driver eventually stopped the bus when SFPD officers stood
in front of the bus to protect the protesters from being run over.
After considering ending the relay altogether, Fong said officials came up with “a spontaneous route” that would be “successful and safe.”
Following a brief appearance at McCovey Cove at about 1:20 p.m., the Olympic torch disappeared into a warehouse at Pier 48 and was not seen again until some 45 minutes later, as torchbearers made their way up Van Ness Avenue toward the Marina District.
Despite the impromptu tactics, Fong said groups of protestors quickly found their way to the torch in the Marina District, some later climbing up onto Doyle Drive and lobbing water balloons at both officers and the torch, she said.
The planned 3 p.m. concluding festivities at Justin Herman Plaza were also abandoned in favor of a more secluded ceremony at San Francisco International Airport. The torch then departed for Argentina, its next stop on the way to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Fong repeatedly praised efforts of law enforcement — an estimated 500 to 600 San Francisco police officers, 350 mutual aid officers from other counties, California Highway Patrol officers and FBI agents — to assure the safety of the torchbearers and participants, as well as “the maintenance of the free speech rights of all who came.”
She offered an apology to the thousands who came hoping to see the torch but did not, including many children and seniors, she said.
“I’m very sorry that they were disappointed, but considering the options, I was not going to put their safety in jeopardy,” she said.
“It’s not an easy decision,” Fong told reporters. “But you sit there, and you sweat about it — and then you make a decision.”
“I’d much rather be standing here and talking about why we changed the route,” she said, “then to stand here and talk to you about why many people were injured, or why many people were arrested, or why the County Jail is still trying to let people go.”
Fong said only five arrests were made, two in the Marina, two at Justin Herman Plaza and one at McCovey Cove. All were cited and released.
Luke Thomas contributed to this report.
Luke Thomas
Luke Thomas is a former software developer and computer consultant who proudly hails from London, England. In 2001, Thomas took a yearlong sabbatical to travel and develop a photographic portfolio. Upon his return to the US, Thomas studied photojournalism to pursue a career in journalism. In 2004, Thomas worked for several neighborhood newspapers in San Francisco before accepting a partnership agreement with the SanFranciscoSentinel.com, a news website formerly covering local, state and national politics. In September 2006, Thomas launched FogCityJournal.com. The BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, New York Times, Der Spiegel, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly, among other publications and news outlets, have published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521 and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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The Hunger Site
April 13, 2008 at 6:21 pm
I was in the area where the people started to move on to the Embarcadero through a gap in the barricade and watched as the police stood by and did nothing. This had to be pre planned police planning.