San Francisco Police Shoot Man Brandishing Knife 

SAN FRANCISCO— — James King

A video taken by a witness shows San Francisco police shooting a knife-wielding man in an incident that took place outside the Westfield Mall in the city’s downtown.

The unnamed man was hospitalized after the shooting and his condition is unknown. Police said the man was in custody, although he was not arrested the day of the incident.

Police received a call about a fight outside the city’s Westfied San Francisco Centre, near Fifth and Market Streets, at 5 p.m. on Nov. 17.

Instagram user ‘jhonatittz’ posted a video and gave this account of the incident:

“I was reading that supposedly the police fired non-lethal rounds, tasered the suspect and later one cop fired his handgun. I saw the whole thing, and I never saw them fire the taser. First, one cop did fire a non-lethal round and right after, a different cop fired his handgun three times, disregarding the safety of civilians in the line of fire inside 835 Market St., right behind the suspect.

“Soon after, the same cop fired two more lethal rounds at the suspect at a different angle with more civilians near the line of fire, and later, another shot was fired.

“I know the video gives an enigmatic perspective of what happened and there are multiple ways to perceive how the event unfolded. You be the judge.”

For its part, San Francisco police say a San Francisco Sheriff’s Office deputy did use a taser, that officers at the scene also used other less-lethal weapons, and that San Francisco police officers did then open fire with their service weapons, according to spokesman Robert Rueca. 

A town hall meeting on the shooting is expected within 10 days.

The San Francisco District Attorney’s Independent Investigations Bureau and SFPD’s Internal Affairs Division are also conducting investigations, said Rueca. 

(Edited by Fern Siegel and Matthew Hall)

(Edited by Fern Siegel and Matthew B Hall)