Protesters blocked westbound lanes of the Bay Bridge for more two hours on Sunday afternoon, as they painted BLM — the initials for Black Lives Matter — on the deck of the bridge, before officials were able to reach the scene make arrests.
It was the second time in recent weeks that protesters blocked a bridge: The Golden Gate Bridge was briefly shut down on June 6 by a huge crowd of marchers that overflowed the walkways.
About 50 vehicles rolled to a stop shortly after 4:30 p.m. on the upper deck of the Bay Bridge in between Treasure Island and San Francisco, according to California Highway Patrol officer Mark Andrews. In addition to the letters painted on the deck, Andrews said the walls on the sides of the lanes also got written on.
San Francisco Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Nancy Crowley said 27 protesters had been cited and released. Andrews said 5 vehicles were towed and 3 bicycles were removed.
As the protest began, CHP vehicles tried to get by on the shoulder of the roadway, with sirens blaring. But due to the traffic, many officers had to park their patrol vehicles and walk, Andrews said.
A Chronicle photographer stuck in the traffic said he saw more than a half a dozen California Highway Patrol officers walking through the Treasure Island tunnel to the protest in riot gear. A man walked his dog as he waited in stalled traffic.
Police closed I-80 on ramps and exits in San Francisco during the protest, according to Police Department spokesman Robert Rueca.
It was far from the only demonstration in San Francisco on Sunday. Indeed, marchers from a different Black Lives Matter protest on city streets waved to their counterparts high up on the bridge.
That march, which drew at least 200 people, was to protest racism in the exotic-dance industry and beyond. Many chanted “No justice, no peace. Abolish the police,” and “Black Trans Lives Matter.” A police vehicle drove ahead of the march, which wound along from Broadway to the Embarcadero.
Alejandra Lopez, 21, of San Francisco, who dances under the stage name Sativa, held a sign that read: “End systemic racism in the strip club industry.”
“I went to Vegas with my friend who’s black,” Lopez said. “We got matching ponytails. She got turned away at almost every club. And I was allowed to work at several of the ones she wasn’t.” Lopez said there are “racist problems within the strip club industry that I’ve seen firsthand.” “We’re tired of seeing it in the police brutality. We’re tired of seeing it in the strip club,” Lopez said. “We’re tired of seeing it, period.”
Other San Francisco demonstrations Sunday included a Buddhist sit-in and meditation at Civic Center to support the Black Live Matters movement, and an early afternoon march by hundreds of people along the Great Highway in San Francisco, adjacent to Ocean Beach.
Not all Bay Area marches have been peaceful. On Sunday, Oakland police said that they are searching for about 100 people suspected of starting small fires and vandalizing businesses and police vehicles along Telegraph Avenue after a march Friday that began at the MacArthur BART Station. Police said responding officers saw about 100 people vandalizing property, some wielding bats and throwing rocks and bottles at police cars. Twitter posts showed broken windows at two stores and one car on fire.
Matthias Gafni, Matt Kawahara and Tatiana Sanchez are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: matthias.gafni@sfchronicle.com mkawahara@sfchronicle.com, tatiana.sanchez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mgafni @matthewkawahara, @TatianaYSanchez
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