San Francisco skateboarders stage smaller ‘hill bomb’ in Dolores Park

San Francisco — A “Hill Bomb” still occurred despite the San Francisco police efforts to stop this.

The SFPD has closed Dolores Street from 18th to 21st to prevent the annual “Dolores Hill Bomb” skateboarding event.

The event involves skateboarders taking over the street and riding down the hill next to Dolores Park at extreme speeds. There have been injuries and one death.

Despite this, Greg Runnels still appeared in Dolores Park.

“You have to keep doing it or you will be suppressed,” Runnels said.

When he arrived on the scene, he found that San Francisco police had closed the road to cars, pedestrians and skateboarders.

Police announced that the annual skateboarding event was scheduled for Saturday. Despite social media reports that the event had been canceled, police and many skateboarders showed up anyway.

“I talked to the police and said, ‘What can I do?’ and they said if you jump that fence you’ll be arrested,” Runnels said of his attempt to skate down the hill regardless.

But Amir Lofton decided to give it a try anyway and rode a short distance down the hill, between the barricades.

“It’s fun and it gives you an adrenaline rush,” Lofton said.

He didn’t get into trouble, but it’s not comparable to previous years.

In 2023, Police have detained and arrested hundreds of peopleThey came in riot gear and took up positions to block the street.

Runnels believes the SFPD’s attempts to contain the incident only escalated the situation.

“Once the power goes out, people start to react and I think that’s what happened last year,” Runnels said.

But Police Chief Bill Scott said they just want to keep people safe.

“We want people to have fun with their skateboards,” Scott said of their attempt to control the event. “But what we don’t want and can’t have is a community that’s been taken over by criminal activity, vandalism, assaults on officers, assaults on the public.”

According to Scott, many people in the community do not want a bombing to take place on the hill.

Sarah Jane Fairless lives in the neighborhood and said she has mixed feelings about the event. While she thinks it’s fun and unique, she feels it has become unsafe.

“It’s become quite violent in recent years. There’s been a lot of vandalism and graffiti. Also, one of our neighbors, an older gentleman, got hit on the head. It’s become quite negative and so we’re not entirely in favor of that happening,” she said.

Some skateboarders still found a way to get their ride. They moved to the other side of Dolores Park, at 18th and Church Streets. A smaller Hill Bomb took place, while a few police officers looked on.

Omar Hernandez was allowed to ride down the hill and hopes the event will go ahead.

“I think this can work, if the city cooperates with us. We do it once a year. When you see how many people come, it just makes us happy,” Hernandez said.

What will happen next year is still uncertain, but police say the event is unofficial and unsanctioned, making it difficult to organize safely.