S.F. protest turns ugly at Union Square

Police detain a man near 5th and Market during a march to call attention to the shooting of Michael Brown and Ferguson, MO on November 28, 2014 in San Francisco, Calif. Police detain a man near 5th and Market during a march to call attention to the shooting of Michael Brown and Ferguson, MO on November 28, 2014 in San Francisco, Calif. Photo: Pete Kiehart / The Chronicle Photo: Pete Kiehart / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 67 Caption Close S.F. protest turns ugly at Union Square 1 / 67 Back to Gallery

A march for racial justice Friday night turned ugly as hundreds of protesters converged on Union Square and frightened crowds of shoppers by smashing windows and attacking police.

Shopkeepers lowered metal gates to protect their entries while shoppers with children dashed inside the giant Macy’s store and cowered behind locked doors. Some protesters broke shop windows and screamed at police, while others threw objects including bottles at officers.

Several families ran from the protest area while hundreds crowded behind police lines at Union Square’s ice rink. An activist spray painted “F T P” (F—The Police) on an Apple Store, watched by dozens of wide-eyed shoppers huddled inside.

“So stupid. It isn’t really smart,” said one woman, shopping bag in hand, as she cowered from the fracas. Her family quickly shushed her, telling her not to give her name.

About 30 demonstrators had gathered at the square at about 5 p.m., and at first were nearly drowned out by loud holiday tunes blaring from the ice rink and the din of thousands of people who came to shop and to watch the annual tree lighting in the square. But once the tree was lit around 7 p.m. and hundreds of other activists had marched to the square from the Ferry Building, the confrontation with lines of police who were flanking them turned nasty.

Officers managed to herd the activists down to Market Street after about 30 minutes. The demonstrators, now numbering about 100, then walked into the Mission District, occasionally breaking windows and spray painting protest slogans as their numbers dwindled.

Police made several arrests, and two officers were injured by broken glass and a flung brick, the department reported.

The demonstration was the latest of several in the Bay Area this week in reaction to a grand jury decision to not indict a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., for shooting an unarmed black man who had allegedly attacked him.

Chronicle Staff Writer Vivian Ho contributed to this report.

Jill Tucker and Kevin Fagan are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: jtucker@sfchronicle.com and kfagan@sfchronicle.com