500 protest against police brutality in Castro

A protest to end police brutality has ended tonight in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco, an employee of a Castro business said.

About 500 people rallied for about two hours until about 10:30 p.m. at the intersection of 18th and Castro streets, in the heart of the neighborhood, said Castro Country Club employee and San Francisco resident Andres Masidonio.

Workers at two other businesses confirmed there was a protest in the neighborhood. The protest stopped traffic going east and west on 18th Street and north and south on Castro Street, Masidonio said. “It was kind of poignant,” he said, since the intersection is where the rainbow sidewalks are.

Another employee said the protest shut down public transit in the area. “It shut everything down,” Masidonio said. The Castro Country Club is a block from the 18th and Castro streets intersection.

Masidonio said the protest was peaceful and it seemed organized:

“If they could keep the other protests like this one, we could probably get our message across.”