In a now-viral police killing video captured in San Francisco, a 26-year-old man stands up against a wall as a group of police officers aim their guns at him. Mario Woods, 26, was then shot to death, execution-style.
Mr. Woods was a frequent fixture around the Bayview neighborhood, others who live there told reporters.
He had a criminal history, but in America, we aren't supposed to deal with crime by firing squad executions.
Several eyewitness cellphone videos have surfaced. The first to spread on social media was apparently taken by a person who was riding a MUNI bus that passed by.
From the SFGate:
Some members of the public and civil rights activists decried their actions, saying it was a blatant example of an overuse of force on a man who suffered from mental illness and posed little to no threat.
Police Chief Greg Suhr stood by his officers, saying they were justified in shooting at 26-year-old Mario Woods, who investigators said was armed with a knife and was suspected in an earlier stabbing.
Woods died shortly after at least five officers fired at him about 15 times in the Bayview neighborhood about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Woods' mother, Gwendolyn Woods, told SFGate that her son had recently been released from prison, and was trying to rebuild his life. He was recently hired by UPS, and had just received his new uniform.
"They're going to paint my child out to be a monster, and he wasn't a monster," she told a reporter.
She was right.
If you can bear to watch it, the SFGate has embedded various videos of the man's death.
Five officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative assignment, and were scheduled to have been interviewed by investigators Thursday.
