U.S.|San Francisco Police Officer Charged With Shooting Man Who Died 3 Years Later
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/02/us/san-francisco-police-officer-kenneth-cha.html
Officer Kenneth Cha, charged with voluntary manslaughter, “lacked a lawful ground to adjacent arrest” the antheral and “elevated a nonviolent encounter,” the territory lawyer said.
Nov. 2, 2021, 9:35 p.m. ET
A San Francisco constabulary serviceman was charged with voluntary manslaughter for shooting an unarmed antheral who died 3 years aft being wounded astatine his location successful 2017, the San Francisco territory attorney’s bureau announced connected Tuesday.
The officer, Kenneth Cha, was charged for shooting Sean Moore aft helium and his partner, Officer Colin Patino, responded to a telephone that Mr. Moore was violating a restraining bid aboriginal connected Jan. 6, 2017, according to the territory attorney’s office. Mr. Moore died connected Jan. 20, 2020, of what the coroner’s study said was “acute intestinal obstruction” due to the fact that of slug wounds to his abdomen from the shooting.
In the statement, District Attorney Chesa Boudin said Officer Cha “lacked a lawful ground to adjacent arrest” Mr. Moore and that helium was unarmed astatine his location erstwhile helium was changeable by Officer Cha.
“When officers inflict unwarranted unit successful flagrant disregard of their training, it denigrates the hard enactment of different constabulary officers and shatters the spot our assemblage places successful instrumentality enforcement,” Mr. Boudin said. “Rebuilding that spot requires america to clasp those officers who inflict unlawful unit accountable.”
The charges against Officer Cha see voluntary manslaughter, battle with a semiautomatic firearm, enhancements for idiosyncratic usage of a firearm and infliction of large bodily injury, the San Francisco territory attorney’s bureau said successful a connection connected Tuesday. It is lone the 2nd clip an on-duty instrumentality enforcement serviceman has been prosecuted for a homicide successful San Francisco, the bureau said. Officer Patino was not charged.
The statement said that Mr. Moore’s mother, Cleo Moore, said she was “very happy” to larn of the charges against Officer Cha.
The San Francisco Police Officers Association did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected Tuesday. It was unclear connected Tuesday nighttime if Officer Cha had a lawyer.
When Officer Cha and Officer Patino arrived astatine Mr. Moore’s doorway aboriginal successful the greeting connected Jan. 6, 2017, Mr. Moore asked them to permission and said helium had not violated the restraining order, which prohibited sound harassment, according to the territory attorney’s office. He told the officers that helium had been sweeping his stairs and taking retired his trash.
The officers did not leave, and what followed was a melee betwixt the 2 officers and Mr. Moore successful which Officer Cha pepper-sprayed Mr. Moore and, accidentally, his ain partner, according to the territory attorney’s office. Officer Patino aboriginal struck Mr. Moore with his metallic baton, and Mr. Moore struck back, causing Officer Patino to autumn down immoderate stairs.
Officer Cha past drew his weapon arsenic Mr. Moore kicked successful his direction, and Officer Cha changeable him twice, according to the territory attorney’s office.
“In conscionable 8 minutes, Officer Cha elevated a nonviolent brushwood to 1 that took Sean Moore’s life,” Mr. Boudin said.
Three antithetic courts person antecedently held that Officer Cha and Officer Patino acted unlawfully successful utilizing unit against Mr. Moore.
In June, the metropolis of San Francisco settled a suit filed by Mr. Moore’s household for $3.25 cardinal that claimed civilian rights violations and usage of excessive force.
In a statement, Yoel Y. Haile, manager of the transgression justness programme for the A.C.L.U. of Northern California, commended the territory attorney’s bureau for its “continued effort to clasp constabulary officers accountable for transgression behavior.”
“But Mr. Moore’s decease is besides a searing indictment of the full carceral system, 1 that responds to intelligence wellness disorders with criminalization and incarceration alternatively of with attraction and compassion,” helium said.