A man who was shot and killed July 21 in the Tenderloin by a San Francisco police officer fired his weapon at the cop while running away, newly released videos show.
Footage from a street-level surveillance camera and the officer’s body-worn camera shows the man turning and firing toward the officer, then turning and pointing his weapon a second time before the officer fires his own gun three times shortly before midnight. The man then collapses to the ground.
The videos were shared Wednesday afternoon by the San Francisco Police Department during a virtual town hall.
The suspect, identified as 28-year-old Alexander Antonio Lopez, died of his injuries at the hospital.
Surveillance video previously published by The Standard recorded an officer yelling “stop” before firing shots at Lopez as he runs down Willow Street toward Van Ness Avenue. Four gunshots are heard, and three muzzle flashes from the officer’s gun can be seen in the video.
SFPD previously said that the man was armed and that officers were responding to a report of a nearby robbery before the shooting.
During the town hall, Acting Commander Mark Im provided details about the robbery and the circumstances around the shooting before playing the videos. Im said the robbery victim called 911 at 11:27 p.m. to report that a man with a gun had stolen his black-and-red scooter near United Nations Plaza.
In the audio of the call, the victim, who is speaking Spanish, tells police that the man pointed a gun at him, according to a police interpreter. The victim provides a description of the suspect and says he fled on the stolen scooter.
At about 11:55 p.m., patrol officers encountered a man matching the suspect’s description on Willow Street. The man, later identified as Lopez, was in possession of a black-and-red scooter. The officers stopped their vehicle to talk to Lopez, who took off running, according to Im.
In the videos, the officer who was riding in the passenger seat exits the vehicle and runs after Lopez, yelling at him to “stop.” As officers command him to “stop” a second time, Lopez fires his weapon. After Lopez points his gun a second time, an officer fires his gun three times.
According to Im, about two seconds elapsed between when Lopez raised his firearm a second time and the officer fired his weapon. Im identified the officer who shot and killed Lopez as Paul Balza.
After viewing the video published by The Standard, the San Francisco Police Officers Association said the union’s interpretation was that the officer acted in self-defense.
“I’m grateful that the involved officers are doing well and that no innocent people were injured during this incident,” Captain Jason Sawyer said during the town hall. “The officers displayed incredible bravery under extreme circumstances and upheld the core tenets of what it takes to be a San Francisco police officer.”