The officer found the unattended backpack on the Stockton Street side of the park at 11:47 a.m., said Officer Albie Esparza, a police spokesman.
After evacuating the square, issuing a shelter-in-place order for nearby businesses, closing streets and calling in the bomb squad, police concluded that the backpack was harmless. They reopened the
square at 1:35 p.m.
"It's better to be safe than sorry," Esparza said. "We take these incidents really seriously."
Among those forced from the square were runners picking up their bibs for the Nike Women's Marathon being held Sunday. The event's tent was set up in the square.
For some, the threat conjured reminders of the Boston Marathon bombings in April that killed three people.
"I hadn't worried about it until they mentioned this bomb threat," said Eileen Gapasin, 29, of Cupertino. "It's going to be crazy to see what they do for the marathon. ... It's scary to think of the possibility, especially because it's supposed to be a positive experience."
Tiana Frazier, 28, was trying to get to the Chanel store on Geary Street to pick up a black lambskin purse she had been waiting to get for months. But the street was closed, and Frazier was stuck at the corner of Geary and Grant Avenue.
She said she was less worried about a possible explosion and more concerned about getting to the store.
"They have bomb scares all the time," she said. "It's never a bomb."
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