'Epitome of irresponsibility': San Francisco police shut down alleged illegal club

A surveillance video shared by the San Francisco City Attorney's Office showed over 150 people entered an illegal club in the Bayview neighborhood in early April despite the city's shelter-in-place order. A surveillance video shared by the San Francisco City Attorney's Office showed over 150 people entered an illegal club in the Bayview neighborhood in early April despite the city's shelter-in-place order. Photo: San Francisco City Attorney's Office Photo: San Francisco City Attorney's Office Image 1 of / 28 Caption Close 'Epitome of irresponsibility': San Francisco police shut down alleged illegal club 1 / 28 Back to Gallery

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San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera announced Monday that police have shut down an underground nightclub operating in defiance of the statewide shelter-in-place order.

According to Herrera, the city recently began investigating an industrial building at 2266 Shafter Avenue in the Bayview. A time-lapse video provided by the city attorney's office taken from April 4-6 shows more than 150 people entering and exiting the building; San Francisco police surveilling the building saw up to 30 cars per hour parking out front and bouncers frisking people at the door.

Since March 16, night clubs, bars and other entertainment venues have been barred from holding gatherings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"Education is always the first step, but willfully ignoring health orders is not acceptable," Herrera said in a statement. "We are going to use every tool at our disposal, including these types of warrants, to protect public health during this pandemic. Cramming dozens of people into an illegal club during this outbreak is like dropping a lit match in the woods during fire season. Who knows how far the damage will spread? It’s the epitome of irresponsibility."

On Friday, a judge signed an abatement warrant that shut the club down for operating illegally during the city's lockdown order, the first warrant of its kind to be issued in the city during the pandemic. Over the weekend, officers from SFPD's tactical unit and the Bayview Station seized "DJ equipment, two fog machines, nine gambling machines with $670 in cash inside, two pool tables, bins of liquor, cases of beer, bar furniture, and other nightclub-related items."

Herrera also said the building does not have proper permits to operate as a club and doesn't have the required sprinklers, fire alarms and exits for a public-facing building. According to court documents, the building tenant who has been allegedly operating the club told the property owner that he was using the building for storage.

Police are also separately investigating a report of shots fired inside the building on March 15.

"The operators of this illegal club senselessly put lives at risk in a time when our city is doing everything within our means to slow the spread of this pandemic and safeguard the health and wellbeing of the public," San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said in a statement.

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