Newly obtained video shows the moment a tense standoff between San Francisco police and an armed suspect in the Mission ended without anyone being struck by bullets despite an apparent exchange of gunfire.
The standoff unfolded Saturday morning on Shotwell Street between 17th and 18th streets after police chased a man to the area from several blocks away and gunshots rang out. Police say the man, whom officers tried to stop for reasons that are still unclear, hid behind a vehicle and shot at police.
While it’s unclear from the limited details police released on the incident who shot first or when officers opened fire, witness video shows the man taking cover behind a parked car and pointing what appears to be a firearm toward officers. The video also shows tactical officers rushing the suspect and arresting him.
The incident marked the first San Francisco Police Department shooting since officers shot and killed two apparently homeless men who wrestled for control of a knife beneath a freeway overpass in the Dogpatch in late May.
It also represents an unusual shooting by SFPD that did not result in death or gunshot injury.
Police said the suspect in the latest case was injured and taken to the hospital, but not as a result of gunfire.
He has since been identified as Jose Corvera, 51, according to officials.
Jail records show Corvera was booked into County Jail on suspicion of various charges including assault on a peace officer with a semiautomatic firearm, exhibiting a gun in the presence of an officer and resisting arrest.
The District Attorney’s Office has not said whether Corvera will be charged.
Miquel Banket was preparing for class at a dance studio on Shotwell Street when he heard a loud banging sound. Banket looked out the window to see a man hiding behind a car and shooting a pistol at police, he said.
A standoff ensued with officers trying to get the man to drop the weapon. Banket said he saw the man smoking a cigarette and playing around with his phone, holding onto the weapon the entire time.
The final of three rounds of gunfire came when police apparently opened fire on the suspect, who may have shot back, Banket said.
“It was really loud,” said Banket, a Pilates instructor who filmed portions of the encounter. “The sound was vibrating off of the building.”
Michael Grove heard two rounds of gunfire from inside his home on Shotwell Street. He said he heard police referring to the suspect by his first name, Jose, and pleading with him to cooperate.
“We’re here to help you,” police repeatedly told the man, according to Grove. “Put the gun down. We’ll get you help.”
The shooting occurred across the street from a preschool-to-eighth-grade Italian immersion school that was not in session at the time.
The encounter left more than half a dozen bullet holes in the garage door behind where the suspect took cover—apparently caused by police.
This shooting is under investigation by multiple entities including SFPD, the District Attorney’s Office and the Department of Police Accountability, the city’s independent civilian watchdog agency.
Police have thus far confirmed few details about the case but are expected to release further information at a yet-to-be-scheduled community meeting.