Just three days ago, San Francisco police officers shot and killed a homeless man in the city’s Mission District. The man later identified as Luis Gongora, 45, was killed by multiple gunshots (at least 7) within the span of 30 seconds of the officers arriving on the scene. There is a video of the event, depicting a street in San Francisco seemingly unoccupied until three police vehicles pull up in tandem in the middle of the road. The first cop begins yelling, “Get on the ground” before he is even fully out of his car and the remaining 4+ officers immediately follow him moving toward the subject outside of the video frame. What follows is a shocking sequence of gunshots 1, 2, 3... and a rapid progression of several more. Next comes a piercing scream and what sounds like frantic arguing happening out of frame. As this chaos unfolds a teenage girl walks across the frame on the near side of the street looking at the action while she passes and begins running away from the scene as the shots ring out as if she too is fearful for her life.
This is just one of the latest instances of police brutality, but there is always a perfectly logical justification for these situations, of course. Homeless outreach workers called the police to report that a man was walking around carrying a large kitchen knife, and he wouldn’t put it down. Police stated in a news conference later in the day that two officers opened fire after Luis Gongora got up and charged at the police. So, you could use the increasingly common excuse lately that it was a matter of self-defense and the need to protect themselves because 4 cops circling around a man who has gotten up and approached them (again just outside of frame) can’t possibly defend themselves against one man with a knife without shooting him 7 times in the chest.
Members of the media interviewed a couple of witnesses that afternoon who stated that Gongora spoke only Spanish and probably did not understand the officers who were screaming at him to “get on the ground”. The homeless observers, John Visor, and Stephanie Grant, also shared that he was wandering in circles of confusion and had already put his knife away into his waistband by the time the officers arrived. John Visor added, “Everybody carries something for protection here. He didn't have the knife in his hand when he was shot.” Regardless of the circumstances, there is not a valid reason to shoot someone multiple times before even allowing time to survey the situation and react. This is an action based on instinct or malice, not a reaction to instances occurring within their observance. The video recording of the fatal shooting totaling a brief yet horrifying 1 minute and 15 seconds does not reveal enough to confirm anything for certain, but it does set an alarming and intimidating tone to yet another instance of police violently shooting a seemingly harmless individual.
Follow the link below to watch the brief video of the shooting and draw your own conclusions.
