Police allege Mario Woods moved toward officers in a threatening matter with a knife before they opened fire, an incident captured on video and circulated online.
Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP
Relatives of a San Francisco man shot by police officers last week have filed a federal lawsuit against the department, alleging Mario Woods posed no threat when he was shot repeatedly by five officers.
San Francisco Police allege Woods, 26, was armed with a kitchen knife and made a threatening motion toward officers before being shot on Dec. 2. But an attorney representing Woods' family said video captured by witnesses of the shooting contradicts the officers' account of what happened.
"That video clearly demonstrates that Mr. Woods' hand was down by his side at the time that officers shot him," Jonn Burris, who filed the civil rights lawsuit Friday afternoon, told BuzzFeed News. "The police position was bogus."
The shooting has caused an uproar in San Francisco and sparked calls from members of the community for the resignation of Chief Gregory P. Suhr.
"The chief's credibility is being called into question," Burris said.
The San Francisco Police Department held a town hall meeting two days after the shooting to discuss the use of force against Woods, and released frames of the videos shot by witnesses, alleging it showed Woods stretching out his arm before being shot.
But Woods' family and their attorney, Burris, disagree with the assessment, insisting the video shows the first shot was fired before Woods extended his arm.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1NgXv4C
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