SFPD Spent Nearly $250K in Overtime During Failed Attempt to Halt Dolores Hill Bomb

Local law enforcement spent more than a quarter million dollars in overtime last month to crack down on an annual downhill skateboarding event.

The skaters had a backup plan.

On July 6, skaters attending the Dolores Park Hill Bomb, an annual event that draws hundreds to watch skaters speed down a steep hill near the Mission District park, were met with dozens of officers, along with barricades and other means to deter skating on Dolores Street, where the event has taken place in the past.

The skaters simply walked across the park to Church Street.

“You can never stop a skater’s pride, bro. This s— is never going to stop,” skater Mark Urbieta told KQED at the event. “Every single day. We’re going to do it regardless. We’re going to do it from Twin Peaks all the way to downtown.”

The Hill Bomb has become controversial in recent years. Paramedics are often required for skaters who wipe out, and complaints from neighborhood groups have mounted. In 2023, the event ended with the arrests of 113 people, including more than 80 minors. This led to outrage and a lawsuit from parents, who sued the city on behalf of their children for alleged civil rights violations.

This year, the San Francisco Police Department held a press conference before the event, warning the public that it would have a heavy presence at Dolores Park.

It cost more than $247,000 in overtime for SFPD officers to attempt to stop the hill bomb. In addition, roughly $6,400 was spent on barricades rentals, according to public records obtained by Hazel Williams, a homeless rights advocate, and shared with KQED. The San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, which assisted SFPD, estimated that it spent another roughly $29,000 on overtime.

Last year’s event cost the police department $143,000 in overtime costs, Mission Local reported.

Evan Sernoffsky, SFPD’s director of strategic communications, said the department’s investment in policing at the event yielded significant results, adding that last year’s arrests were related to vandalism of city property, alleged violence and other property destruction.

“This year, thanks to our community outreach and public messaging, there were dramatically fewer people at the event,” he said in an email. “Importantly, there was no widespread violence and property damage.”

KQED’s Juan Carlos Lara contributed to this report.