Another young black person has been killed by the San Francisco Police.
Update: Her name is reported to be Jessica Nelson, age 27. #SayHerName. Some reports say that she may have been pregnant.
A woman has died after a San Francisco police officer-involved shooting in the city's Bayview District this morning... The woman was transported to the hospital in life-threatening condition and later died.
San Francisco police say the shooting occurred around 10 a.m. in the area of Shafter Avenue and Elmira Street. San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr says the woman was in a stolen car that crashed into a truck. A sergeant fired the fatal shot, according to Suhr.
May 19th - today, had been proclaimed the 2nd #SayHerName Day. A day to remember women of color killed by police. Women such as Rekia Boyd, Tanisha Anderson, Kayla Moore and Sandra Bland. And now, in an ironic tragedy, a still unnamed woman is dead on the streets of San Francisco. Nothing has changed.
The Chief himself appeared on the scene and here provides some information as to what happened in the below videos. Although the police claim the woman had stolen the car she was driving, there has been no substantiation of that claim. It does seem the car was stolen, but when it was stolen, and who stole it, are unknown. In any case it is not relevant. No one should die at the hands of police because they are driving a stolen car, even if they did steal it.
The Mayor is clearly not happy. He hasn’t been happy for a while, and he isn’t getting any less unhappy. This is significant. The cracks in the wall are appearing. Previously Ed Lee had stood 110% behind the Chief of Police, and just yesterday the news reported that Chief Suhr said he had no intention of stepping down.
"Whether or not [the incident] required the use of deadly force is something we need to look at very, very specifically," Lee said. "We want to make sure we understand... whether it fits into our reforms."
The mayor said he was in conversations with Suhr and community advocates who are "very concerned" about the shooting.
Now the pressure will only intensify...
David Campos is one of the four San Francisco Board of Supervisors who last week called for the Chief of Police to go. Everyone knows that getting rid of Suhr will not solve SFPD's homicidal tendencies, butg most sane people understand that not getting rid of him won't do anything to eradicate a culture that allows firing squad executions and then has the Chief claim immediately that they are justified...
The Anti Police Terror Project, based in Oakland, was on the job almost immediately as the news of the shooting shot across the twitterverse. They know that in cases like this the police are more likely than not interested in suppressing evidence and intimidating witnesses, not seeking the truth.
They recently went to Chicago to do a rapid response training to police violence for organizers there.
It’s time to stop the madness. If the police won’t, the people must.
#SayAllTheirNames.
Thursday, May 19, 2016 · 9:22:19 PM +00:00 · jpmassar
More from 48Hills:
In a statement released via email Public Defender Jeff Adachi’s expressed his shock and condemnation over the incident “It is unacceptable for police encounters with unarmed citizens to end in bullet wounds and body bags. While details are still scarce, I am deeply disturbed by reports that the young woman gunned down today was driving away from officers. She was entitled to due process and, above all, she was entitled to her life. Police reforms and policy changes are meaningless if they aren’t accompanied by a major shift in police culture, away from shooting first and asking questions later. I am reiterating my request that the California Attorney General’s Office open its own civil rights investigation into the San Francisco Police Department.” he said