Even before jurors in the Derek Chauvin trial began deliberating Monday, business owners in San Francisco were boarding up their windows, hiring extra security and bracing for what could happen next.
"We’re hoping that we’re overreacting and that really it will all be very peaceful, but we just want to be extra cautious because we’ve been through this before," Karin Flood with the Union Square Business Improvement District said.
Last summer, rioters, who piggybacked on peaceful protests for George Floyd, vandalized at least 36 businesses in San Francisco's famed shopping district, breaking windows, spray painting anti-police graffiti and looting.
"Property owners, some of them are boarding up, choosing to do that," Flood said. "Some are hiring extra security, putting merchandise away. So, we're protecting ourselves."
For San Francisco police, it's all hands on deck. The department has canceled days off for sworn officers and will have extra officers on duty as they monitor events in Minneapolis.
In Oakland, employees at Taylor Jay Collection were removing what's left from their front window.
Owner Taylor Jay said she reopened on Friday. The same day, vandals spray painted and broke windows.
"Although it can be replaced, it’s just so unnecessary," Jay said. "It’s just another obstacle that we have to go through in the midst of so many other things that are going on right now in the world."
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
