During anti-ICE protests in San Francisco on June 8 and 9, police officers employed force 20 times and arrested 247 individuals. Acting chief Paul Yep confirmed one officer was hospitalized due to injuries sustained during the protests. Despite assurances about excessive force, video evidence suggests less-lethal munitions like pepperballs were utilized against demonstrators, sparking questions about police measures and their classifications. The protests were characterized by large crowds engaging in First Amendment activities, where objects were thrown at law enforcement, raising concerns about public safety and police response.
While San Francisco police are forbidden to indiscriminately deploy pepper spray into a crowd, they are permitted to fire pepperballs at targeted individuals within a crowd. Pepperballs are, essentially, pepper spray in powdered form. It impacts people in much the same way, but the effect is far more localized and would not affect large swaths of the crowd.
Protesters were throwing objects at officers that were in a squad and at least one officer was hit. This is in relation to the First Amendment activity that was occurring.
Yep said he had no information on whether police discharged weapons on either night. He also said he was not aware of any deployment of 'O.C. spray' - pepper spray - or another agent.
One officer was hospitalized during the June 8 protest around 8 p.m. in the Central District, Yep added.
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