Less than 15 seconds; that is how long it took San Francisco police to use deadly force to brutally kill 45-year old Luis Gongora on April 7. Police arrived just after 10 a.m. to the 400 block of Shotwell Street after homeless outreach workers thoughtlessly summoned police following a purported knife brandishing at a tent encampment, which consequently put at risk all those in the area.

In a video anonymously sent to the SF Chronicle, the footage shows SFPD arriving with three vehicles where by 0:15 they begin to exit their vehicles before quickly making their way to Gongora who according to friends only spoke Spanish and thus could not understand what the police were yelling at him. By 0:38 the first bean bag was fired at the victim, which sounded more like a shotgun than an ostensibly less-harmful weapon. Only six seconds later, after the bean bags, SFPD at 0:44 begin their assault on Gongora showering him with lead bullets. Once the firing squad ceases shooting, one can hear the outrage in response to the needless barrage of bullets from bystanders and friends who had to witness the horror of SFPD’s ruthlessness.

According to the infamous Police Chief Greg Suhr, Gongora was wielding a knife and the police responded by firing their guns. Witnesses, including another homeless man named John Visor, indicate that while Gongora was known to carry a knife, as do most homeless people in the area, it was not in his hand as he walked in circles at the time he was killed. (SFGate)

Continue reading

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.liberationnews.org