San Franciscans want to name PD headquarters after ‘victim of police brutality’

Staff Report

As if San Francisco, which elected the son of domestic terrorists convicted of murder as its district attorney, Chesa Boudin, was not odd enough, the city’s defund the police denizens outdid themselves this week.

First, Boudin, a former defense attorney who fired the city’s most experienced homicide prosecutor, filling the position with a social worker, made this announcement on Monday.

“Today, my office filed homicide charges against the former officer who shot and killed Keita O’Neil, an unarmed, Black man in 2017,” tweeted Boudin, who as a young man served as a translator for Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

“As far as we are aware, this is the first time in San Francisco history that an officer has been prosecuted for homicide,” said Boudin, who’s served as DA since January, during which time the city has endured a spike in many crimes, especially drug-related ones.

O’Neil, at the time of his death, had carjacked a California Lottery van and was eluding authorities in a chase on city streets. His mother hired prominent civil rights attorney John Burris to represent the family in a civil case for excessive force.

Boudin, before filing charges, hired an attorney from Burris’ law firm to investigate the officer, who days the tragic shooting before had completed police training.

Many San Franciscans cheered the charges, but wanted more changes within the police department.

“Not bad. But I’m looking at a ballot measure to send a message far beyond @SFPD
when it comes to respecting the people they encounter while serving the people,” tweeted Allen Jones, an activist with CaliforniaClemency.org.

Jones wants the SFPD to rename its headquarters to “honor a recent a victim of police brutality.”