The city of San Francisco was celebrating the victory of the Golden State Warriors NBA championship Saturday night when a cop confronted four men for drinking alcohol from open containers in public.
One of the men took off running, prompting a foot chase where the cop shot him in the back.
The San Francisco police officer, whose name has not been released, claimed the man had pulled a gun on him.
But bodycam and surveillance video do not confirm that.
Nevertheless, police say they found a gun despite not being able to spot the gun after shooting Oliver Barcenas in the back. Barcenas is recovering from the gunshot wounds.
San Francisco police released four videos of the incident including two bodycam videos from two cops as well as a video from a surveillance camera in the area, but none even hint that Barcenas may have pulled a gun.
In fact, within the seconds after the cop shot him, he makes no attempt to remove the gun from Barcenas, even though he was still alive. Unconscious but alive.
“He had a firearm,” the cop claims. “I don’t know where it is right now.”
Meanwhile, witnesses who had been celebrating their city’s NBA victory had become angry.
The incident took place on June 9, 2018 about 15 minutes after midnight. San Francisco police explained the following in a press release:
• Two uniformed officers from Central Station were on patrol in a marked police vehicle.
• The officers observed four individuals standing at the corner of Grant Avenue and Vallejo Street and the officers decided to contact the group of four individuals for an open alcohol container in public violation.
• One officer made contact with the group of four individuals and engaged in a dialogue about the open alcohol container while his partner parked their vehicle.
• After a brief dialogue between the officer and the four individuals, one of the four, later determined to be twenty-eight year old San Francisco resident Oliver Barcenas began to flee on foot on Grant Avenue towards Green Street.
• The officer pursued Mr. Barcenas on foot and during the pursuit Mr. Barcenas removed and discarded the jacket he was wearing and drew a firearm from his waist.
• After Mr. Barcenas drew a firearm from his waist, the pursuing officer discharged his firearm at Barcenas striking him.
• Mr. Barcenas fell to the ground.
Despite no gun being found on the video, police say they found the following gun near Barcenas after he was shot, but many commenters are accusing police of planting the gun, which they were sued to doing to another man in 2010.
Below are the four videos released by police. Above is a shortened edited video from the bodycam of the cop who shot barcenas.
