In the latest case of bacon-wrapped hot dog vendors being more harshly persecuted than other illegal street vendors, video has emerged of a Sunday incident where a woman was tackled and detained for selling hot dogs, in front of her terrified toddler daughter.

We will say once again that the unpermitted, on-street sales of bacon-wrapped hot dogs is the most victimless crime possible in San Francisco. Yet for some reason, SFPD and SF Public Works go after the hot dog vendors with a certain brutality that we never seem to see unleashed against people selling actually stolen items. And it happened again Sunday, in an incident not unlike the slamming down and handcuffing of Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill that had happened just hours earlier, as Mission Local reports that a woman running a hot dog cart was thrown to the ground and handcuffed as her screaming, crying daughter looked on.

So this time, the crime of selling bacon-wrapped hot dogs without a permit did have a couple victims. And the video below is tough to watch, notably because of the terrified screams of a little girl watching her mother get tackled and arrested.

The incident reportedly happened Sunday morning near the Embarcadero, and admittedly, we do not know what happened prior to the filming of this video. When it begins, the unidentified hot dog vendor is already slammed to the ground and handcuffed by at least two SFPD officers. Workers in Port of San Francisco vests are busy dragging  off the hot dog cart, while also trying to calm passersby and prevent cellphone video filming. Hot dog cart trimmings are strewn about the sidewalk.

A man who appears to be a Port of San Francisco employee is heard telling a bystander, “It’s ‘cause she fought with the officers.” A different lime-green-vested person who also seems to be a Port employee tells a passerby, “These are being confiscated by the Department of Public Health.”

SFPD spokesperson Robert Rueca told Mission Local that the hot dog vendor “obstructed and delayed workers,” and “assaulted” a Port employee. The woman was reportedly cited and released, but not taken into custody, and was treated by medics after the incident.  

One would think there are at least 50 common crimes in San Francisco that law enforcement and city agencies would prioritize over busting bacon-wrapped hot dog vendors. And yet, there was the infamous large-scale seizure of hot dog carts in the wake of the November 2021 Union Square smash-and-grabs. There was also a big hot dog crackdown during last November’s APEC, and the SF Giants are part of a hot dog vendor busting effort outside Oracle Park, being conducted along with the SF Department of Public Health.  

Related: SF City Hall Vows Crackdown on Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dog Vendors for APEC [SFist]

Image: John D. via Yelp