After a SFPD officer pursuing a suspect shot and injured two bystanders last weekend, SFPD convened a meeting Monday to allow SFPD Chief Greg Suhr to explain and/or defend the actions of the shooter.
SFPD says that at 2 AM Saturday, two foot-patrolling officers saw 20-year-old Jesus Paredes Rodriguez engage in a narcotics transaction near Broadway and Kearny and saw him “in possession of marijuana.” Saying that Rodriguez “matched the description of a wanted suspect,” they approached him.
According to SFPD, Rodriguez fled, then pointed a TEC-9 semi-automatic pistol at them. The officers then fired at Rodriguez, missing him but hitting a bystanding man in the lower leg and a female bystander in the thigh by “a piece of the bullet or some other sort of casing,” the Ex reports that SFPD Chief Greg Suhr said at Monday’s meeting.
Rodriguez did not fire any shots, SFPD says.
According to the Ex , Suhr said “the department could not feel worse about having two bystanders injured. However, the alternative of having a suspect with this weapon could have been a lot worse.”
When it was suggested to Suhr that police should have waited to fire, “Suhr countered that there wasn’t time,” says KTVU.
According to KCBS, Suhr said that since “the suspect that was threatening (the officer’s) life,” he was in accordance with SFPD policy, inspiring board of Supes president and mayoral candidate David Chiu to ask “whether changes need to be made to the department’s policy,” reports KTVU.
Suhr appears to disagree, saying “The alternative of having a suspect out there with an offensive weapon like this assault pistol, I’ll take that every time versus having up to as many as 22 rounds sprayed along the Broadway corridor,” reports KCBS.
Both of the people injured in the incident have been released from the hospital. Rodriguez was arrested at the scene and has been charged with a felony weapons violation, two counts of felony assault, and a misdemeanor for possession of marijuana.
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