06/24/2026
I was asked recently about an article in the Times of San Diego https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1604864431642042&id=100063555011641&mibextid=Nif5oz and without getting into the specifics, in my experience increases in violence in entertainment districts can be related to a few factors: new/less experienced personnel (server/security/police), lack of collaborative relationship with public safety leadership, lack of understanding of end-of-night "culture clash", and bad operators. All of these are opportunities for businesses to build a better nighttime ecosystem for themselves and the community.
San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter serves as the city’s hub for tourists and residents to see concerts, dine at popular restaurants and drink at dozens of bars. More and more often, though, the sights and smells wafting on Gaslamp Quarter streets are not filled with aromas from French bistros, but with the noxious, pungent and tear-inducing odors of oleoresin capsicum, more often referred to as pepper spray, discharged by San Diego Police Officers patrolling the nightlife district.
In 2025, SDPD’s Gaslamp enforcement team, also known as the Gaslamp bike team, deployed more pepper spray strikes than in the previous two years combined, according to SDPD use-of-force data obtained by Times of San Diego.
SDPD officers last year used pepper spray 361 times while responding to calls in the Gaslamp, more than double the number of deployments in 2024, and three times the number in 2023.
There is no other part of the city in which pepper spray is used more frequently than the Gaslamp. While officers deployed pepper spray 361 times in the Gaslamp, the next highest neighborhood was East Village, where officers used the chemical agent 18 times. Downtown’s Core-Columbia neighborhood and Mission Beach saw the third and fourth most pepper spray reports, with 8 and 7 incidents, respectively.
SDPD spokesperson Ashley Nicholes says the issue is much more nuanced than what the data suggests.
Police attribute the increased use of pepper spray to more rowdy, drunken and raucous crowds.
“The Gaslamp District is unique in that it has thousands of people packed into a relatively small area due to the number of hotels, conventions, restaurants, bars, and event venues, including Petco Park,” Nicholes told Times of San Diego.
Recent lawsuits and legal tort claims describe overly eager officers who turn to chemical agents as a quick and effective de-escalation tactic.
In mid-May, videos of police officers deploying pepper spray on dozens of people circulated on social media and eventually on news websites.
That was allegedly the case on July 26, 2025, around 12:30 a.m., when Araceli Ubina Viveros walked near the Greyhound Bar on G Street and 5th Avenue. In a legal tort claim obtained by Times of San Diego, she said she saw three SDPD officers tackle a man later identified as George Medina. Ubina Viveros’ claim describes her watching as officers punched Medina and drove their knees into his back.
She said she witnessed officers unholster canisters of pepper spray and douse Medina in the face with the chemical agent.
Ubina Viveros reached for her phone to document the use of force. As she began to record, one officer allegedly pushed her down, while two others pointed their pepper spray canisters at the crowd of people assembling nearby and sprayed them.
“What happened to our clients was a violent and unnecessary use of force that is becoming a routine experience for San Diegans in the Gaslamp Quarter,” said attorney Sophia Rebecca-Marie from the Pride Law Firm. “Mr. Medina was violently tackled to the ground, punched, and pinned face-down under the weight of multiple officers; ultimately breaking his ribs. It was only after restraining Mr. Medina that SDPD officers used pepper spray on him. As Ms. Urbina Viveros was attempting to record SDPD’s violence, she was shoved to the ground. As this was happening, SDPD officers continued to pepper spray into the crowd of civilians. This reckless use of pepper spray endangers everyone nearby; it’s deeply disturbing conduct by SDPD. “
It was not the only pepper spray incident in the Gaslamp that has resulted in legal action.
📝: Dorian Hargrove
📸: Adrian Childress
Read more here: https://timesofsandiego.com/crime/2026/05/31/san-diego-gaslamp-quarter-pepper-spray-spike/
