Twelve police officers in San Francisco were injured early Tuesday morning as they tried to break up a large "hostile" crowd that was throwing bottles and fireworks at them, the department said.
Officers responded at about 12:39 a.m. to the area of 24th and Harrison streets and found a large crowd and a fire, police said.
Officers declared the gathering an unlawful assembly and ordered the people to leave "due to the risk of public safety and property," police said.
Members of the crowd proceeded to throw glass bottles and set off "explosive devices" in the direction of the officers, police said.
All 12 officers experienced ringing in their ears, according to police. Two of the 12 also suffered minor burns from debris from an "exploding device." All of the injuries were considered non-life threatening.
Officers eventually managed to clear the crowd, and firefighters doused the fire, police said.
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No arrests had been made as of late Tuesday morning.
"The San Francisco Police Department is committed to facilitating the public’s right to peaceful expression of their First Amendment rights," police said in a statement. "The Department does not tolerate violence against police officers or any member of the community. We ask that everyone exercising their First Amendment rights be considerate, respectful, and mindful of the safety of others."
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A group of taggers also defaced a few businesses and homes in the area. The first level of a new senior assisted living facility was left covered in paint.
Resident Ruben Arellano said it had been tagged recently when it first opened.
"Whoever tagged it just tagged it to tag it, I guess," he said. "Then they cleaned it all up and now look at it again. That's terrible."
Across the street, the owners of a new neighborhood café – already busy trying to get ready for their grand opening – had to paint over the mess that was left behind.
One of the business owners said he's not even going to replace one of his damaged windows because right now the price of glass is so expensive, he simply can't pay for it.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the police department's 24-hour tip line at 415-575-4444. People may also text a tip to TIP411 and start the message with SFPD.
