Unarmed Man Killed by Cop in Drive-By Shooting – Taxpayers to Bear Liability

It took former San Francisco cop Chris Samayoa only four days on his job to score his first murder back on Dec. 1 2017, but it took almost three years to have him prosecuted. As he’s yet to face any kind of a trial for killing shooting 42-year-old Keita O’Neil, this week, civil action against the department has started.

San Francisco’s district attorney issued a press release at the time stating that Samayoa was the first ever policeman to be prosecuted in the city over an on-duty murder. This news comes after police acknowledged that an unarmed man was shot and killed by a rookie cop in an event that was carried out in the manner of a drive-by shooting.

Samayoa is now awaiting trial — or a fantastically good plea bargain — after he was accused of fatally shooting O’Neil. Samayoa has been charged with voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, assault with a semiautomatic weapon, assault by a police officer and discharge of a firearm with gross negligence.

As far as we are aware, this is the first ever occasion that the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office has brought charges against a law enforcement officer for a homicide, "District Attorney Chesa Boudin said during a press conference last November.

But as for the lawsuit, the city has been arguing Samayoa had qualified immunity and declined to hear their case since the killing policeman "reasonably believed" his life was in danger as O’Neil fled away, unarmed.

On Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero decided that a jury was better equipped to judge whether Samayoa behaved properly or used excessive force when he shot and killed O’Neil, according to Courthouse News.

"A jury might infer that O’Neil did not‘reach’ for his waistline, that his hands were in the region of his waist solely as part of a normal running motion, and that any reasonable officer in Samayoa’s position would have understood.

As noted at the time, Samayoa had been on the job for only four days when he opened fire onO’Neil, from the passenger window of a police vehicle at about 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 1, 2017. The Body Cam video reveals that there was just a couple of seconds from the moment the police vehicle drove up to O’Neil, and the time Samayoa fired the fatal shot.

"As additional patrol vehicles closed in on him and obstructed his route, Mr. O’Neil rushed past the police car where Officer Samayoa was sitting in the passenger seat. Officer Samayoa aimed his pistol and shot Mr. O’Neil through the passenger side window of the police vehicle, killing Mr. O'Neil, "Boudin said in a statement.

"Body camera video demonstrates that not a single other officer drew their service weapon or aimed it at O'Neil," Boudin added.

According to The Mercury News, police said O'Neil was suspected of assaulting a California Lottery employee and stealing the agency's van. Officers then "chased the vehicle and another SUV observed driving with it to a neighborhood of public housing where O'Neil was shot."

According to police, O'Neil was driving the Lottery van when he got out and rushed towards their patrol vehicle while it was still running. Additionally, they stated that the four people in the SUV made a detour, were detained and arrested by police, and were subsequently released without charges.

According to the language accompanying the Body Cam video, the San Francisco Police Department was trying to enhance openness by forcing officers to wear Body Cameras and by publicly sharing the material. It should be emphasized, however, that although Samayoa did not activate his body camera until after the shooting, the camera recorded the incident due to an automated buffering mechanism.

Naturally, the San Francisco Police Officers Association (SFPOA) expressed their solidarity with the former officer and his family.

"The criminal court system will permit the disclosure of the facts pertaining to this case," SFPOA President Tony Montoya stated in a statement. "We are dedicated to ensuring that Christopher and his family are supported during this trying time, that he is afforded due process rights, and that he is given an aggressive defense against these charges."

Consider the utterly delusory mentality required to justify opening fire from inside a police vehicle and murdering an unarmed guy as you view the body camera video below.