EXCLUSIVE: SF hot dog vendor arrested in viral video speaks out as police, community respond
The video, recorded outside Pier 33 on Sept. 8, is difficult to watch.
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- UPDATE: San Francisco police are looking to set the record straight about a viral video showing a street vendor being handcuffed on the ground along the Embarcadero.
In a thread of posts on X, SFPD says it "appears to be an orchestrated effort by people illegally vending hot dogs to undermine the city's efforts to enforce the law" and that a witness told a young girl to begin crying "to manipulate the situation."
NEW DETAILS: SFPD claims viral video of hot dog vendor arrest was 'orchestrated effort' to undermine enforcement
Questions are being raised about a viral video showing a street vendor being handcuffed by police at San Francisco's Embarcadero while the woman's young daughter screams for her mom.
Illegal food vending is an issue in San Francisco and public health officials have been working hard to keep the public safe from foodborne illnesses. But the video is raising questions about what happens when rules and protocols are lost in translation.
The video, recorded outside Pier 33 on Sept. 8, is difficult to watch.
Hot dog vendor and single mother Ana Luisa Casimir Julca is seen on the ground, being detained by police as her 5-year old daughter can be heard screaming nearby.
The Port of San Francisco tells me they, along with the departments of public works and public health, conduct regular enforcement of unpermitted vending on port property. SFPD says they were providing security to those city workers and jumped in after they say Casimir Julca attacked a port employee.
MORE: SF health dept. launches campaign against unpermitted food vendors citing 'unsanitary conditions'
A man in a bright yellow vest can be heard on one video clip from the incident, screaming, "She's not doing what she's being told!"
She was then arrested for that assault and delaying an investigation.
We found her on Tuesday, unable to vend; she says due to her injuries and her cart being confiscated.
"My whole head, everything, bruised - how is it possible they did this to me?" said Casimir Julca to ABC7 News anchor Dion Lim.
Rodrigo Lopez of the Mission Street Vendors Association says he doesn't know what transpired in the moments before the recording but did not like what he saw.
MORE: Video shows San Francisco city worker knocking over hot dog vendor's cart
"We are against violence. It's heartbreaking to see that especially with kids and child around the incident," said Lopez. "It's unacceptable to handcuff a woman like that, especially with a child around."
When Lim asked San Francisco police about the incident, a spokesperson told her food safety and vending laws were broken in addition to the alleged assault. In addition, Evan Sernoffsky, director of communications said, "If the vendor doesn't like being arrested, she should reconsider how she behaves when the city workers are just trying to do their jobs."
Lopez believes the language gap was a big issue in this incident and hopes enforcement officials can be more aware of that in the future.
"There has to be training for them how to engage with the community, new immigrants," said Lopez. "They don't know the law, they're new to this country, they don't speak English."
Casimir Julca also adds, she follows all the rules she knows of. Such as using gloves, purchasing her goods from Restaurant Depot and Costco. She says she just wants to work in peace.
