SFPD warns of citations on 4/20 for violators of stay-at-home order
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott on Wednesday warned anyone coming to Golden Gate Park on Monday for the marijuana-related holiday Four Twenty that they could be cited, as the event has been canceled along with several other large gatherings due to the coronavirus.
Scott reiterated an announcement earlier this week by Mayor London Breed that Four Twenty, a long-held tradition that only became a city-sanctioned event back in 2017, would be canceled this year.
More than 15,000 people usually flock to the annual event held on April 20 at the park's Robin Williams Meadow, also known as Hippie Hill, as the day has become a counterculture holiday celebrating marijuana.
"There is absolutely no doubt that Four Twenty will not occur this year," Scott said during a news conference Wednesday.
"If you plan to show up, the consequences probably won't be favorable for you," he said. "If we have to cite, if we have to arrest, we will. But I want to make it clear that Four Twenty is off this year, it's canceled. Please think of the health of, if not yourself, the people you care about."
The area will be fenced off, along with some street closures. Also, police officers will be patrolling the vicinity, he said.
Scott added officers would also be on the lookout this weekend for people violating the stay-at-home order and conducting non-essential activities. So far, he said, officers have had to cite 5 people and 4 nonessential businesses for violating the order since it was issued on March 16.