Five people were arrested after multiple fights broke out near Fifth Avenue and F Street in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter early Sunday, prompting police officers to deploy pepper spray as they tried to control the crowds. San Diego police responded to the intersection around 1 a.m. on Sunday. Police said that as officers tried to break up one fight, they saw three others begin. Officers with the bike team used their bicycles to separate themselves from the crowd and deployed pepper spray after police said they were repeatedly obstructed and assaulted by people involved in the fights and bystanders. Videos of the confrontation circulated on social media. The chaos unfolded outside Tacos El Gordo, a popular Mexican restaurant at the intersection. Rodolfo Ramirez, who works at the restaurant, described seeing violence in the crowd. “If a guy punch a girl, that’s not good,” Ramirez said, shaking his head. “They don’t have respect for other people,” he said. Ramirez said police arrived and began using pepper spray. “The police started coming and spraying with the pepper spray. A lot of people smelling and just started crying,” he said. The incident was the second time in months that multiple fights broke out at the location as crowds converged after bars closed. The previous incident also drew attention on social media, with some people questioning the bike patrol’s use of force. At the time, a police spokesperson said the department reviews officers’ actions in such incidents. “The level of force used by officers during incidents like these are heavily scrutinized by The Internal Affairs Unit to determine if the force used was within policy,” police said. San Diego Police Department spokesperson Colin Steinbroner said the department has received a complaint about the latest incident and will review it. “This incident involves several individuals fighting and poses a risk of harm to themselves or bystanders. SDPD has received a complaint about this incident and will be looking into it,” Steinbroner said. The recurring fights have also affected businesses in the area. Ramirez said that in a separate incident, a restaurant window was broken during a fight outside. He said pepper spray deployed by police entered the restaurant, forcing workers to discard food. “All the pepper spray comes inside and contaminates the food, so we take care of that. We throw away all the food and start again,” he said. Ramirez said police previously suggested that the restaurant remove its sidewalk bar and tables, but he said that did not prevent another fight from breaking out Sunday. “They need to close more early, the bars, or do something. You are too drunk, don’t drink anymore because you can do something bad later,” Ramirez said. Police arrested five people involved in the incident. They face several charges, including public fighting and resisting arrest. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less