SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — City officials issued an apology Wednesday following an incident involving a man selling hot dogs and an overzealous public works employee.
A witness recorded cellphone video that was uploaded onto Instagram. The video shows a man donning a fluorescent San Francisco Public Works vest as he darts toward a hot dog vendor and pushes a cart over. Buns, hot dogs, peppers, and other ingredients spilled out of the cart and onto the sidewalk.
The October 1 incident reportedly happened at Pier 39, where food vendors frequently sell tasty food to tourists and locals on the weekends.
The video spurred a backlash on social media. One Instagram user commented, “If only they put that much energy into the people stealing and breaking into cars!”
The San Francisco Public Works department told KRON4 that the employee in the video was part of a multi-agency operation targeting unpermitted food vendors.
SFPW officials told KRON4, “We train our employees in de-escalation techniques with the goal of diffusing tense situations. In this circumstance, we did not meet that threshold and we apologize. While we are still looking into what led up to that moment and the events that preceded, we strive to treat members of the public with respect during permit enforcement operations.”
“Once the investigation is concluded, we will take appropriate action, in accordance with the
city’s employee policies and procedures,” SFPW wrote.
