San Francisco’s new district attorney Chesa Boudin has
withdrawn charges against a man accused of attacking two police officers in the
Mission District in December, a move that has drawn harsh criticism from the
head of the police union.
When police made contact with 24-year-old Jamaica Hampton
they were looking for a man who had just broken into a Mission District apartment
and vandalized several cars.
Since then, Hampton has had a leg amputated after being shot
several times by the two arresting officers. Boudin said he’s not charging
Hampton right now in part because those officers are still under investigation
for opening fire.
Tony Montoya, the San Francisco Police Association president,
did not mince words about Boudin’s decision not to press charges.
“Mr. Boudin has made it very clear that it’s open season on
police officers,” Montoya said.
The confrontation, which was caught on police body camera
video, took place in about 30 seconds. In the video, Hampton can be seen
crossing the street as a police cruiser pulls up. The car door opens, and Hampton
runs toward the cruiser.
In the video one of the officers can be seen struggling to
get free from Hampton before a fight erupts on the pavement as the second
officer tries to help.
Hampton tries to escape, and the officers chase him, yelling
at him to get on the ground. At one point Hampton runs toward officer Stirling
Hayes, who fires several times. His partner, Christopher Flores fires once.
“It’s very clear on video,” Montoya said. “There’s no ambiguity. He ran up and attacked two of our officers, one of them with a glass bottle, to the point where he received a skull fracture. He received sutures to the face.”
In the body camera video Hampton can be seen hitting Flores
with what police say is a vodka bottle.
In an email sent to the entire police department, Chief Bill
Scott called the incident a violent, criminal act. He said he plans to continue
working with the DA’s office to see to it that justice is done for the
officers.
Newly-elected DA Chesa Boudin ran on a progressive campaign
that included prosecuting police misconduct. In this case, his office says the police
officers are under investigation for the shooting, which could create a potential
problem if they testify against Hampton.
When asked if this is a new policy from the DA, a
spokesperson said, “the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office is developing
a policy to avoid the conflicts that cases like this present, involving
multiple potential suspects and theories.”
The DA has up to three years to file criminal charges
against Hampton, who I still recovering in a local hospital.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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