Whether it's celebratory riots, large-scale protests, or opportunistic criminals looking to loot because police might otherwise be distracted, Bay Area police departments are bracing for possible crime and bedlam on Election Night or later this week.
The 2024 election had already set off law enforcement activity before polls even opened Tuesday morning, as ballot boxes were set on fire last week in Oregon and Washington state. So, today’s election could prove unpredictable for law enforcement, because after all Donald Trump is running, and he has a way of bringing out the crazy. So the Chronicle reports that Bay Area police departments are gearing up for election-related unrest, which could potentially come Tuesday afternoon, Tuesday night, later in the week, or perhaps never.
In San Francisco, there are no plans to monitor polling station for acts of violence or destruction there (officers are at the ready, as polling places in Georgia did have to briefly close because of threats today). But in the Contra Costa County city of Richmond, police will be deployed to the 22 polling stations there, per the Chronicle. They plan to keep their distance to avoid the appearance of intimidation, but will be able to arrive swiftly in case of incident.
It seems unlikely we will know the winner of the presidential election Tuesday night (though Kamala Harris winning the early-reporting states of Georgia and North Carolina would certainly be an indicator). But police have prepared for the possibility that it could be called tonight, one way or the other. In SF, that could lead to World Series win-type celebrations like we saw the night Barack Obama won in 2008, or more violent anti-Trump protests the likes of which happened in 2016.
An SFPD spokesperson tells the Chronicle there will certainly be increased patrols Tuesday night. "People are free to exercise their First Amendment right," SFPD spokesperson Evan Sernoffsky said. "But any kind of violence or property damage will not be tolerated."
Meanwhile, over in Oakland, KTVU reports that some businesses have already boarded up their windows in anticipation of what may come.
Oakland police are particularly on alert after the May 2020 fatal shooting of a security guard by people affiliated with the Boogaloo militia during the George Floyd protests, a crime initially pinned on Black Lives Matter protesters. It’s an example of how criminals sometimes use social unrest as a cover tactic to conceal unlawful activities.
The Chronicle points out that on the night of the 2020 election, a roving band of burglars knocked off several pharmacies, electronics retailers, and cannabis dispensaries in Oakland, presumably anticipating havoc that never arrived because the election did not get called that night. Such burglary attempts could happen again tonight.
And as we also saw in 2020, there will probably be legal challenges in the days to come if someone doesn't get his way. Those legal challenges could spawn their own protests. So it may be a long night and a long week for everyone who's appropriately freaked out over this election, but it may feel even longer for law enforcement.
Image: SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 15: Police officers form a line as protestors gather at the intersection of Fifth and Mission to block delegates, staff and security personnel from accessing security check points to enter the APEC summit zone at Moscone Center on November 15, 2023 in San Francisco, California. The 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Week Summit is set to run through November 17, with more than 30,000 people including dozens of world leaders and hundreds of CEOs attending the event. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
