In an effort to address nightly disorder and lawlessness in the Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego Police Department dispatched more officers to the popular entertainment district over the weekend.
San Diego Police Chief Wahl announced the effort, Operation Last Call, last week, with a special focus on crowded intersections like 5th Avenue and F Street. His announcement follows a huge brawl last weekend outside Tacos El Gordo. The police dragged assailants away and deployed pepper spray on the crowd, with five arrested.
This weekend, the scene at bar break was calmer.
“There was definitely a ramp-up of officers, approximately two on every block. So they definitely helped (by) having additional boots on the ground,” said Gaslamp Quarter Association Executive Director Michael Trimble. “They’re looking to continue to do that until they get the Gaslamp back to a state where it’s as safe as it should be, like it always should be.”
Days after the Tacos el Gordo fight, flanked by a wall of uniforms, Wahl announced up to 25 officers would be assigned to manage crowds, brawls and public intoxication in the Gaslamp from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
He pledged the Gaslamp will become safe once again thanks to dedicated foot patrols, undercover VICE teams making sure bars aren’t serving underage patrons, plus enforcement of public consumption and disorderly conduct.
The effort will be “highly visible,” and officers will have zero tolerance for unlawful behavior, Chief Wahl said.
Violence in the nightlife hub has increased in recent years.
Times of San Diego analyzed police calls for service from January 1, 2026 through August 29, 2026 and compared them with the previous year’s calls for service in the Gaslamp. The data shows that San Diego Police fielded 125 more disturbance calls this year than in 2025. Police officers have responded to 53 more disturbances with violence calls this year as well.
Officers reported 196 assaults against them in 2025. Assaults on SDPD officers operating in the Gaslamp have also increased by 172% over the past two years, according to the city.
While disturbance calls went up, police officers working the Gaslamp detained 100 more people this year compared to 2025.
Wahl said Operation Last Call aims to address problems before they escalate to violence.
“We want everyone coming to the Gaslamp to have a great time and enjoy the best of what San Diego has to offer,” Chief Wahl said. “Unfortunately, we have seen an increase in violence and lawlessness that threatens our residents and our officers. Enough is enough.”
As a response to the uptick in violence, police officers working the Gaslamp beat have responded with more force of their own. Times of San Diego previously reported on the increasing use of pepper spray in the Gaslamp, from 68 uses in 2017 to 361 times in 2025. No other neighborhood had as frequent usage, with East Village coming in second with 18 uses in 2025.
At the time of the report, SDPD spokesperson Ashley Nicholes said Gaslamp’s circumstances are unique, with thousands of people packed in a tight area. In that area, police respond to three times more disorderly calls than anywhere else in the city, the second-highest number of crimes, and experience the most assaults on officers.
“Ever since COVID, I think there’s been a feeling that there are no consequences, so I can do whatever I want,” Trimble said. “That basically breeds a lot of poor behavior and contempt for law enforcement.”
San Diego Fire-Rescue Chief Robert Logan noted the chaos in the Gaslamp affects his crews’ ability to respond to emergencies.
“Crowding around an emergency scene, blocked access and violent behavior can delay emergency care and place both the person needing help and first responders at greater risk,” he said.
In addition to SDPD’s increased presence, the city claimed it is taking a coordinated approach to improving conditions in the Gaslamp Quarter, with work underway focused on infrastructure, cleanliness, the public right-of-way and the overall visitor experience.
In 2023, the city ended funding for the Fifth Avenue Promenade after contract overruns with the Gaslamp Quarter Association (GQA). The promenade closed the busiest road in the Gaslamp to vehicles at night, so pedestrians had more room to bar hop. Since the program ended, lines to bars, illegal street vendors, and passing pedestrians all crowded onto narrow sidewalks.
“We’ve gone backwards when it comes to making the Gaslamp Quarter more walkable and safer,” Trimble said. “You can only have so many people on that sidewalk before people bump into each other, and you add alcohol, and then you have problems.”
With the chaos on the sidewalks, Trimble said it felt like the Gaslamp is regressing to how it was in 2017. But raucous behavior in the Gaslamp predates that, going back to its roots as a red-light district — and police crackdowns.
Once known as the Stingaree, one section of the Gaslamp had brothels, opium dens, gambling halls and saloons. In 1912, police arrested 138 prostitutes in a raid, giving all but two train tickets to leave the city. Then, the city tore down many of those anti-social establishments ahead of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.
By the 1970s, the area was blighted once again and only became a thriving business district after two decades of revitalization efforts.
While the historic Gaslamp district of today is much different than the red-light district of the 1880s, businesses and residents in the 21st century still complain about drug use and excessive drinking.
This year, the Gaslamp Quarter Association called on the city to let police enforce a no-vending zone that would have alleviated congestion. However, the city declined amid a court battle with a licensed street vendor.
Months later, the Gaslamp Quarter Association is getting its desire for additional police enforcement, although illegal street vendors will not be kicked out.
The operation will continue until there’s a notable decrease in “lawlessness,” Wahl said.
