Video obtained by Mission Local shows San Francisco police tackle and handcuff a woman on the Embarcadero this morning as her young daughter cried hysterically — during a confiscation of her hot dog stand.
The woman could be heard saying “Ya, me voy, me voy!” or, “I’m leaving, I’m leaving!”
Onlookers filmed as the woman struggled on the pavement with two officers who were pulling her arms behind her back to handcuff her. A worker in a yellow vest blocked onlookers from approaching or filming up close.
“It’s ‘cause she fought with the officers,” another worker in an unmarked yellow vest told an onlooker as he rolled the hotdog stand away. “These are being confiscated by the Department of Public Health.”
A witness told Mission Local that the woman was upset about her cart being confiscated and officers were holding her back as a worker took the cart, but they were unsure how the situation escalated to her being handcuffed.
Early in the video, the woman’s daughter stood watching with a children’s tablet in her hand, but as the arrest became more violent, she began screaming and tried to rush toward her mother. Onlookers who had gathered at the scene dragged her away.
Eventually, police handcuffed the woman and she sat up. It is unclear whether the woman was arrested or cited and released — SFPD did not immediately return a request for comment.
The Department of Public Health also did not immediately return a request for comment on the incident.
San Francisco has been attempting to crack down on hot dog vendors, with little success.
“Don’t let the intoxicating aroma of frying onions trick you into eating unsafe food,” read a tweet from DPH in October. “Protect yourself from illnesses by not buying from unpermitted food vendors who don’t follow safety rules. #DontRiskIt.
The Department of Public Works has also been involved in permit enforcement on street vending; a worker in a San Francisco Public Works vest was caught on camera last October running towards a vendor and flipping over his hot dog cart, spilling its goods onto the sidewalk. Public Works officials apologized after that incident.
In 2022, spokesperson Rachel Gordon said those selling without a permit in a public right-of-way are asked to show their permits, and given the opportunity to pack up and leave.
Gordon today declined to comment on the incident, saying that the Department of Public Health leads operations on food carts.