SAN DIEGO, CA – The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) is reviewing a late-night incident in the Gaslamp Quarter after social media footage surfaced appearing to show officers using pepper spray on a large crowd.
Clash Near Tacos El Gordo
The incident occurred around 2:30 a.m. Sunday near the popular Tacos El Gordo location. More than 100 people had gathered in the area as nearby bars reached closing time. Members of the SDPD bike patrol were reportedly responding to a disturbance when the confrontation began.
Witnesses and cellphone video captured officers deploying liquid chemical agents to push back the crowd. Among those affected was Dalton Tingle, who claims he was sprayed directly in the face while simply crossing the street.
“I was scared, I was hurting,” Tingle said, noting that he was not involved in the initial fight that drew police to the scene.
Questions Over Use-Of-Force Policy
The viral footage also shows a woman in a pink dress being sprayed, leading to public criticism regarding the necessity of the force used.
According to established department procedures, chemical agents should generally not be used for crowd dispersal without the explicit approval of an on-scene field supervisor or incident commander. It remains unclear if that protocol was followed during the Sunday morning chaos.
Official Department Response
SDPD spokesperson Lt. Cesar Jimenez stated that the department’s Internal Affairs Unit is aware of the footage and is closely scrutinizing the level of force used.
“The level of force used by officers during incidents like these are heavily scrutinized to determine if it was within policy,” Jimenez said in a statement.
As of Monday, the department confirmed that no formal complaints of excessive force have been filed, though an internal review of the video evidence is currently underway.
