SF Green Party County Council Candidates Ticketed For Observing Arrest

Source: SF Green Party
On Friday March 1, around 11PM, GCC candidates, Rob Arnow and Paul Platt were riding their bicycles across the intersection of 8th and Market, when they noticed a young Latino walking across the street against the light with an open can of beer. The young man accidentally blocked an SFPD squad car.
The squad car pulled to the side of the road on Market and the officers got out. Without saying anything to the young man SFPD Officer Inocencio grabbed the suspect by the arm from behind and forcefully swung him around. He then shoved him after which both officers pulled his arms behind his back, forcefully marched him over to the squad car and slammed him down on the hood. They then held him there, forcefully twisting his arms behind his back.
At this point Arnow and Platt decided they should get closer to observe the situation. As they sat on their bikes from a comfortable, non-threatening distance, Inocencio was furiously yelling at the suspect’s two female friends who were complaining about the excessive force that he had used. He kept threatening them to get back or he'd arrest them for obstructing and delaying. They insisted on getting his name and badge number, until finally he let them have it. During this time another squad car pulled up and Officer H. Lym got out.
Platt, at a certain point moved a little closer to Inocencio and the two women at which point Inocencio yelled at him to move away. Platt responded that he was within his rights to legally observe, which he was according to San Francisco's "Rights of the Onlooker" Laws, which allow observation within earshot. Inocencio angrily replied, "No you're not, I can cite you for obstructing and delaying." Officer Lym then approached and asked Platt for his ID. He then asked Arnow for the same, who asked him why he wanted it. Lym said it was for riding his bicycle on the sidewalk. Not only were neither of them riding on the sidewalk, but they hadn't been riding at all since before Lym arrived. Lym and his partner proceeded to cite Arnow and Platt for riding on the sidewalk and for defective bike equipment (no headlight). While the tickets were being issued, several bikes rode by without headlights, some on the sidewalk. When Platt charged that this was selective enforcement, Lym replied, "No it's not, I'm giving him one too," motioning towards Arnow.
Eventually the suspect was released without any citation. It seemed that the officers were worried about how they had handled the situation with so many witnesses around and that they were doing everything they could to discourage legal observation from concerned citizens.
The last time Arnow tried to legally observe the police, about one year earlier, he was arrested on charges that were later dropped.