Suspect shot by San Francisco officers left suicide notes UPDATED

[Omaha Steve]

Last edited Mon Jan 5, 2015, 11:13 PM - Edit history (2)

Source: SFC-AP

KRISTIN J. BENDER

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Authorities say they have found several suicide notes in the cellphone of a man shot and killed by San Francisco police officers.

San Francisco police on Monday released the content of one of the notes titled "Dear Officer(s)."

The man, identified by the medical examiner's office as 32-year-old Matthew Hoffman, says in the note that the officers "ended the life of a man who was too much of a coward to do it himself."

FULL short breaking story at link.



ORIGINAL STORY: http://www.timesunion.com/news/crime/article/Police-kill-suspect-near-San-Francisco-station-5993793.php

San Francisco police kill suspect who pulled air gun

By KRISTIN J. BENDER

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Officers shot and killed a man who brandished what appeared to be a handgun but was actually an air gun after they told him to leave a restricted parking lot outside a San Francisco police station.

Police hit the 32-year-old man three times Sunday evening after he pulled from his waistband what was later determined to be an air gun, which fire metallic projectiles such as pellets or BBs, police spokesman Albie Esparza said.

The man was transported to San Francisco General Hospital, where he later died of his wounds. The officers were not injured.

The air gun did not have a colored tip on it, which is a standard identifier of a toy gun, Officer Gordon Shyy said Monday. He declined to discuss any other details of the case.

FULL story at link. Video: http://launch.newsinc.com/share.html?trackingGroup=90001&siteSection=timesunion_nws_non_sty_dynamic&videoId=27267399



Read more: http://www.sfchronicle.com/us-world/us/

[OldRedneck]

1. "Air gun" not necessarily a toy that needs an identifying blaze orange tip

I am in NO WAY condoning what these cops did. However, we need to make a distinction here.

Toy or replica firearms are required to have a bright orange tip. Some of these do not fire anything -- they just look like a real firearm. Others may fire plastic or rubber pellets at a low velocity that are basically harmless but the will put your eye out.
http://www.beavertonoregon.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/983

NOTE: If you want to start an ENDLESS discussion, get a bunch of gunnuts together and ask them if it's illegal to remove the orange tip from a replica or toy firearm -- then stand back and listen to the guardhouse lawyers rave. Answer: The answer is not that simple.

Then there are pellet, or, air rifles and pistols. These are real firearms that fire a projectile at sufficient velocity to do some damage at close range. With my Gamo Whisper air rifle, I kill ground hogs 30 yards away. These firearms use either a CO2 cartridge or an air pump mechanism to fire a pellet, usually .177 inch diameter; others fire a standard BB. Here's a discourse on these air rifles. Note that rifles of this type fire a round with muzzle velocity oup to 1,250 feet per second (equal to a .22 caliber rifle) while the air pistols generate 500-800 fps muzzle velocity. These are NOT toys or replicas and are not required to have an identifying bright orange tip.

Sounds as though this guy pulled an air pistol, not a toy or replica.

[still_one]

2. nothing to do with condoning or not. If someone pulls something that looks like a gun and aims it

at someone else with a gun, of course this would happen.

[kelly1mm]

3. I'll condone it (meaning to say it was a 'good shoot') IF the facts are as presented by the police.

Although I certainly do not wish harm on anyone, if you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.

[Ash_F]

6. That's a big IF

The only people who said he pulled an air gun are the people that killed him.

They might have a motive to lie.

[kelly1mm]

7. Absolutely! nt

[Omaha Steve]

8. From the Omaha Wendy's shooting where the COPS audio man was killed

Can you tell the difference between the two?




The young mom at the register had it stuck point blank in her face said it looked and when fired sounded just like the police guns.

[pipoman]

4. Likely suicide by cop, deranged, or intoxicated. ..

Too bad...

[olddad56]

5. that was my thought,

possibly suicide with the intent of casting a dim light on the cops, a light which would not be deserved in this case.

[WatchWhatISay]

9. What a sad and lonely place he must have been in

So many mentally ill people with so few places to get help. We just don't care enough to spend our tax dollars on helping them.

[Tom Rinaldo]

10. I note (without sarcasm) that he was only shot 3 times

Of course this is a sad story all the way around from what I can tell from reading this. Saddest for the young man who felt compelled to throw away his life, but sad for the cops involved also who were put in the position of killing a man which they now have to live with. .

How often have we seen stories of police killing a "potentially dangerous" suspect with dozens of shots fired at him? Here this young man seemingly was brandishing a realistic pistol in a threatening manner and police quickly stopped firing once he was hit. Under more lucky circumstances he might have lived, unlike those incidents where police keep shooting until their guns are empty.