San Francisco police officers, as they do nearly every year, moved block by block and dispersed the hundreds of people who gathered on the streets of the Mission District for the annual July 4 fireworks shows.
Dispersal orders came a bit earlier than in past years, at about 10:45 p.m. — most years it is nearer to midnight. Dozens of officers clad in riot gear and carrying batons moved in a cordon line from near Garfield Square Park, where they had assembled, to 24th and Harrison streets, the site of the main shows this year.
“Move! Move!” the officers yelled, advancing on the rapidly retreating crowd. The revelers, who had congregated on several corners on and around 24th but were heaviest at Harrison and Treat Avenue, moved westbound on 24th. The police followed.
“We are closing the street and moving our officers forward to take the intersection at 24th and Treat,” blared a police captain through a megaphone, before the officers advanced further. “Please move westbound towards Folsom.”…