SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco police shot and killed two men in a confrontation last week after being called to help a man who was being attacked, police said Friday.
Police Chief Bill Scott provided information about the shooting at a virtual town hall Friday after facing criticism for keeping nearly silent for over a week about what unfolded on May 19, including whether the men were struck by police gunfire, how the men died and how many officers had fired their weapons.
Police were dispatched to a San Francisco street under a highway overpass around 8 p.m. after a 911 caller reported that a man who was possibly homeless was violently beating someone underneath a tarp, San Francisco police Commander Paul Yep told the town hall. The caller said the man appeared to have two large sticks or rods the size of baseball bats.
When officers arrived, the two men were on the ground in a struggle and officers realized both men had knives, Yep said. More police were called to assist and ultimately more than a dozen officers were there, as seen in body-camera footage shown Friday.
Yep said the men refused to drop their knives, prompting an officer to fire foam bullets. Several other officers repeatedly shouted commands to drop the knives as officers pointed their weapons at them.
After a nine-minute struggle, one of the men, Michael MacFhionghain, 57, started to stab the other man, Rafael Mendoza, 49, prompting four officers to fire their guns, Yep said. He said three fired handguns, and one fired a rifle.
MacFhionghain, who was pronounced dead at the scene, died of multiple gunshot wounds and Mendoza died from one gunshot wound, Yep said, citing a report from the medical examiner’s office.
Earlier this week, the state attorney general’s office announced it would investigate the shooting under a new state law that requires the California Department of Justice to investigate police shootings that result in the death of any unarmed civilians. Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said in a statement Monday that the department was treating the shooting as eligible for investigation because of the “uncertainty” of what happened.
Scott said it was premature to comment on whether the officers used appropriate force. San Francisco police have committed to holding a town hall within 10 days of any officer involved shooting.
