Tuesday 24 November 2020

Suspect, officers involved in SF shooting identified

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (BCN) - San Francisco police during a virtual Town Hall meeting on Tuesday identified a man shot by police during a confrontation along Market Street last week, as well as the two officers who shot him.

According to police, 26-year-old Antonio Estrada suffered life-threatening injuries when officers shot him on Nov. 17 near Market and Fourth streets during a confrontation.

Estrada, who remains in critical condition, has been booked on suspicion of assault, arson and resisting an officer, among other offenses.

The two officers who fired their guns have been identified as Joseph Toomey and Ryan Thompson. Both officers have been placed on paid administrative leave, according to police.

Police said officers initially encountered Estrada earlier that day when they responded to a fire in the 400 block of Ellis Street. Witnesses told officers they saw Estrada, who was armed with a frying pan, pour gasoline in the building's hallway and start a fire.

Firefighters were able to put out the blaze, but officers were unable to locate Estrada, police said.

More than an hour later, officers learned of a fight happening on Market Street between Fourth and Fifth streets, involving a suspect armed with a knife and a frying pan, police said.

When officers encountered that suspect, later identified as Estrada, they ordered him to drop both the weapons, but he refused.

Estrada then raised one of his hands and approached the officers, but one officer fired a 12-gauge Extended Range Impact Weapon, or ERIW, which deploys bean bag projectiles. The weapon, however, had no effect on Estrada and a different officer then fired his gun at Estrada, police said.

The impact caused Estrada to fall on the sidewalk and drop the frying pan. But he didn't drop the knife and again grabbed the frying pan and tried to get up, police said.

The first officers who fired his ERIW and another officer then fired more less-lethal projectiles at Estrada, but they again proved ineffective. When Estrada continued to try to get up, still armed, a fourth officer shot his gun at him, police said.

Although Estrada again fell, he didn't drop the weapons and once more tried to get up, police said. The officers deployed more projectiles and pepper spray.

Now clutching only the knife, Estrada continued to ignore the officers' commands and a Sheriff's deputy at the scene was able to use a Taser on Estrada, finally prompting Estrada to drop the knife, police said.

Officers were then able to restrain Estrada and treat him for his injuries, before taking him into custody.

At the scene, officers later recovered five bullet casings and 11 less-lethal projectiles, police said.

During Tuesday's town hall, police showed body-worn camera footage from several of the officers at the scene, showing the ordeal in detail.

"We have to analyze every aspect of this investigation," Police Chief Bill Scott said. "If we find that there are gaps in training, gaps in equipment, gaps in how we deal with people in crises, that's where we'll work and try to identify those gaps. I can say that our advancement in our crisis intervention training over the last several years has really paid off in dividends. When you look at the aggregate number of incidents in which we actually used force for people in crisis, it's very, very low."

The shooting remains under investigation by the San Francisco District Attorney's Office Independent Investigations Bureau, the Department of Police Accountability, and the San Francisco Police Department's Investigative Services and Internal Affairs divisions.

The officer-involved shooting comes a month after an Oct. 10 officer-involved shooting in which an officer fatally shot 21-year-old Cesar Vargas, who allegedly ran toward the officer while wielding a knife.

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