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SFPD Defends Detaining Crowd Of Bystanders At Rap Music Video In Hunters Point

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) -- This past Sunday afternoon a group of people filming a rap music video in San Francisco's Hunters Point neighborhood were detained by police and two men were arrested.

Video of the incident, posted to Facebook and YouTube, has gone viral. Many commenters complain that it's evidence of overzealous police tactics.

SFPD spokesman Albie Esparza disagrees. He says officers were trying to stop a suspect carrying a concealed weapon.

"[Officers] saw the person with the gun in his waistband and that was a concern to the officers, obviously," Esparza said.

The man they arrested -- 21-year-old Taj Williams -- was recently released from federal custody for weapons and gang charges. He was arrested for violating parole.

KPIX 5 inquired as to why the police detained the entire crowd. Esparza told us it's because the officers were outnumbered.

"It's specifically the one person but for officer-safety reasons, we had to make sure the rest of the crowd also didn't have any weapons on them and that's why the officers did what they had to do."

In the video of the incident you can hear sirens of backup police cruisers pulling into the vicinity. Esparza said SFPD stands by its actions on Sunday.

"I can see the position of the people that were filming the video, their concerns, but also the people in the video need to understand, this person was carrying a weapon they weren't supposed to have in the first place," he said.

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