UPDATE: Video from SAN FRANCISCO POLICE SHOOTING - RAW COVERAGE

San Fran Protesters Hurl Flares, Hammer at Police During Violent March
Protesters marching against the recent police-involved shooting of a young piece of shit welfare colored man — who police say fired at them and ran during a routine train fare check — became violent on Tuesday, hurling flares, smoke bombs, and a hammer at police. KGO-TV reports a motorcycle cop was injured when protesters tried to push him off his cycle. About 35 protesters were arrested at the end of the day:

The march began moving through the Mission and Castro districts around 6 p.m., and it came the same day investigators said tests found gun residue on 19-year-old Kenneth Harding’s hand — the young man who ran from police — indicating he fired the first shot at officers Saturday.

Police Chief Greg Suhr said the Seattle man fired the first shot at the officers, who shot back about nine times. Harding was pronounced dead after the chase in the Bayview neighborhood that began when officers approached him for not paying his fare on a light-rail train.

Harding was on parole for promoting prostitution in Washington state and was a person of interest in a fatal shooting in Seattle last week, authorities said.

During the protest Tuesday, some marchers carried a banner reading “They can’t shoot us all.” Others chanted, “How do you spell murder? S-F-P-D.” Video posted on YouTube also shows protesters shouting, “Cops! Pigs! Murderers!” while also carrying a sign saying, “Fuck the police:”

The group arrived at a Muni light rail station, where they overturned garbage cans and attempted to break ticket machines, KTVU-TV reported. Video footage showed a protester throwing a smoke bomb.

Esparza tells the news station that police declared the gathering of about 150 protesters an unlawful assembly around 7:45 p.m.

After the group left the light rail station, they moved toward the Mission Police Station, where they threw a hammer toward a window. The Chronicle reports officers were not hit in that attempt.

According to KGO, the mob also tried to splash the station with paint and threw flares. It also says protesters vandalized a Bank of America at 18th and Castro street.







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ORIGINAL POSTING




Chief: Man killed by SF police was sought in Wash

SAN FRANCISCO — Police Chief Greg Suhr said Monday that police were justified when they shot and killed a Washington state parolee who fired at officers chasing him on foot for not paying his fare on a light-rail train.
The parolee, Kenneth Harding Jr., 19, of Seattle was later identified as a person of interest in the recent shooting death of a pregnant woman in Seattle.

Suhr said Harding fired the first shot Saturday at two officers, who shot back about nine times. Harding was pronounced dead after the chase in the Bayview-Hunters Point area.

Suhr told reporters the officers were well within their authority when shooting at Harding, who fired while running away. Police said the 10 shots were exchanged in six seconds.

The officers "knew that their lives were in jeopardy and at that point they returned fire," Suhr said. "The officers are permitted to fire until they think the threat has ended."

A gunshot-detection system used by San Francisco police also concluded that Harding shot first, Cmdr. Mikail Ali said as he played audio for reporters of the 10 shots fired.

Suhr did not release the names of the officers, who have been put on standard paid leave as the incident is under investigation.

In April, Harding was released from a Washington state prison after he served 22 months for attempting to promote prostitution involving a 14-year-old girl in King County, said San Francisco police Lt. Hector Sainez. Harding was in violation

of his parole by being in San Francisco, Suhr said.
Harding was a person of interest in last Wednesday's shooting death of Tanaya Gilbert, 19, in South Seattle, Sainez said. Family members said Gilbert was several weeks pregnant. Three other people were also injured in that shooting.

Seattle police Det. Mark Jamieson told The Associated Press he could not confirm that Harding was linked to those shootings.

Rose Bankston, Gilbert's aunt, told The Seattle Times late Sunday that Gilbert's mother, Chekel Cox, had been told by Seattle police that ballistics tests would be conducted on a .45-caliber pistol recovered after the San Francisco incident to see if it was used in the killing of Gilbert.

"We have a gun. However, I can't confirm that is indeed the same weapon," Suhr said Monday.

Ballistics, DNA and gunshot residue exams will be done to see if that gun recovered by investigators late Saturday is also the same firearm Harding fired at police, the chief said.

A gun flew out of Harding's hand some 15 feet after he was shot, Sainez said. Police retrieved a firearm later thanks to cell phone video taken after the shooting was posted online showing a man wearing a gray-striped hooded sweat shirt picking it up and running off with it.

"I applaud the courage of these witnesses to come forward in such a volatile environment," Suhr said. "They confirmed that the suspect fired upon the officers before they returned fire."

Meanwhile, a makeshift memorial created for Harding continued to grow as frustrated Bayview-area residents and community leaders questioned the officer-involved shooting.

"They believe no one will call them out and hold them accountable, and that's the situation we're trying to change, said Jeremy Miller, co-director of SF Education Not Incarceration.

Witness Henry Taylor, 54, recalled the shooting.

"The bullets flew. He was shot viciously. He lay there and bled in front of everybody," Taylor said. "It was traumatizing."

Suhr, who oversaw the Bayview area for the Police Department and helped cut homicides in half before becoming police chief, said he was sensitive to residents' concerns.

"Just one incident like this is such a huge setback to what our community policing efforts have been," Suhr said, adding that officials will try to show the community the shooting occurred as police say.

Supervisor Malia Cohen, who represents the area where the incident occurred, said she intends to review the results of the internal police investigation. She also said a town-hall meeting will be held Wednesday to discuss the incident.