SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A man with a knife was shot multiple times by San Francisco police after allegedly charging at officers and is pronounced dead, according to police officials Thursday.
The shooting happened on Shotwell Street between 18th and 19th Streets around 10 a.m. Police are only describing him as a Latino man.
A KRON 4 viewer nearby said he heard four to five gunshots.
A homeless outreach team initially reported someone with a large kitchen knife was on Shotwell Street. Officers responded and tried to subdue the man by shooting less-lethal beanbag rounds at him, police officials said.
However, the suspect got up and charged at the officers, who fired at least seven shots at him, police said. The man was taken to San Francisco General Hospital and went into surgery in “very critical” condition, but hospital officials said he has since died.
An officer said that the man was homeless and had been staying in a nearby alley for a couple of months.
The department is in the midst of revising its use of force policies following the controversy over the police shooting of Mario Woods in the Bayview District in December. The revisions include policy changes
emphasizing conflict deescalation and the use of non-lethal force.
Woods was also armed with a knife, and witness videos of the shooting widely distributed on social media caused many to question whether he posed a threat to officers or could have been subdued by other means.
“We have been working hard to figure out how to deal with folks with edged weapons,” police Chf. Greg Suhr acknowledged Thursday. “Apparently this event went really quickly. We’ll have to look into it to find out why it had to go down as it did.”
Gary Siegel, who works at an auto body shop around the corner from the shooting, said he was on the phone when he heard six to nine quick rapid gunshots. He went outside later and saw the man’s body on the street.
Siegel and others who live and work in the neighborhood said there is a longstanding homeless encampment along the east side of Shotwell where the shooting occurred.
A man who said he has been working for the past two weeks on the block where the shooting occurred said the homeless residents mostly “stay on their side” but can sometimes get loud or rowdy.
One man in particular Wednesday was kicking soccer balls at people and was “just losing it,” he said.
“As long as they don’t bother me, I don’t bother them,” said the man, who asked to remain unidentified.
Questions have been raised about the police account by witnesses on Shotwell who told reporters that the man, who they called “Jose,” was not holding a knife in his hands at the time of the shooting, but
instead had it strapped to his hip.
John Visor, 33, said Jose, who he said did not speak English, started to stand when police arrived, and one officer fired beanbag rounds before a sergeant shot at him.”
“He didn’t charge at no officers, he was going in circles because he didn’t understand what they were saying,” Visor said.
The reports caused Supervisor David Campos to respond on Twitter.
“So many questions being raised by witnesses to latest tragic SFPD shooting. Need independent investigation by DOJ Civil Rights Div now!”
Martin Halloran, the president of the San Francisco Police Officers’ Association, has issued the following statement on the shooting:
“Today two San Francisco Police officers responded to an emergency call from homeless outreach team (HOT team) workers in the Mission District who reported a suspect brandishing a 10-12 inch knife.
“Here’s our preliminary understanding of the basic facts. The police officers who arrived on the scene – at least one of whom had completed his crisis intervention training (CIT) – tried to verbally de-escalate the situation, and then after that failed, the suspect was struck by an officer with a nonlethal beanbag, which had no effect.
“Even after being hit with the beanbag, and repeated demands by the officers, the suspect refused to drop the knife. When challenged by the man with the knife, to protect the public from harm, the officers had to discharge their weapons. The shots were fatal.
“Based on the preliminary facts that we’ve learned so far, it appears that the officers acted appropriately. However, we are reserving our final judgment until the investigation by the SFPD is complete.
“We also believe that every officer-involved shooting should be investigated by the City’s Office of Citizen Complaints, and that its investigation of this case should begin immediately.
“Every loss of human life is a tragedy, including this one. It’s possible that this tragedy might have been prevented if our officers were equipped with Tasers, which the police commission has repeatedly blocked.
“In the wake of this tragedy there will be renewed calls for new revisions to the SFPD’s ‘use of force’ policies. We remain committed to working with the mayor and the police chief on improvements to these policies, and we welcome any best practices that are tested and verified and will not put our officers, and members of the public, in harm’s way.”
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee also issued a statement on the shooting:
“We are all striving to make sure officer involved shootings are rare and only occur as a last resort. And, while we don’t know all the facts of this morning’s officer involved shooting, we do know that Homeless Outreach workers providing services to homeless people in the area called the police for help after encountering a person armed with a knife.
There are now two investigations underway by the Police Department and the District Attorney, and today, I am asking the Office of Citizen Complaints to launch their own independent investigation.
The San Francisco Police Department takes their responsibility of protecting the public very seriously, and that’s why we are undertaking a complete top to bottom review of all San Francisco Police Department policies, practices, and procedures dealing with the use of force. Reforms will ensure officers have the training and equipment necessary to protect our communities, keep our City safe and protect the safety of our officers.
Police reforms include a review by our nation’s highest law enforcement authority, the U.S. Department of Justice, and require all of us, from advocates, City officials, community members and police officers alike, to work together.”