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San Francisco police on Friday released video and audio recordings of an officer’s deadly encounter with a man in the Richmond District, saying the man threatened the officer with a knife before he was shot and killed. 

During a town hall Friday afternoon, SFPD Chief Bill Scott and members of his command staff laid out the moments leading up to the early morning shooting on June 22. Before officers’ arrival, Roland Child, 84, had called police to report an aggravated assault. Roland said that the suspect, his 37-year-old son Marc Child, had also assaulted his wife, 76-year-old Barbara Lai Child, whose body was found in an upstairs bathroom. 

Mark Im, acting commander for SFPD’s risk management division, presented evidence that included recordings of the 911 call received from Roland Child, the dispatch call to officers and the body-worn camera footage from officers who responded to the scene. 

Video from the first officer on scene showed him arriving and interacting with Roland Child, who was standing in the front doorway of the home. He told the officer that his son had a walking stick. The officer went upstairs and found Marc Child, who was standing near the doorway of the bathroom and holding a knife, peeking out. 

Footage captured by a San Francisco Police Department officer’s body-worn camera shows the officer shooting Marc Child after Child ran at the officer and Child’s father while holding a knife. Child later died of his injuries. Viewer discretion is strongly advised. Video: Provided by San Francisco Police Department

On the video, the officer gave multiple commands to Marc for him to drop the knife. Instead, Marc Child began advancing towards the officer, who quickly ran back down the stairs with Roland Child. After the officer and Roland Child retreated to the front steps, Marc Child continued his advance with a knife in his right hand, and the officer shot him twice. 

Im identified the officer who fired the lethal shots as Eduardo Villanueva.

Medics took Marc Child to San Francisco General Hospital, where he later was pronounced dead. Roland Child was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital and treated for a stab wound in the arm, which was not life-threatening.

A separate body-worn camera video from another responding officer showed police searching the upstairs portion of the home, where they found the body of Marc’s mother in the bathroom. “We have one down in the bathroom, a lot of blood,” the officer could be heard saying on the video. “Looks like an 802.” Earlier in the town hall, Im said that “802” was a code SFPD used to identify a deceased person. One of the family’s dogs, a dachshund, was also found dead inside the home.  

It wasn’t the first time Marc Child had been involved in an altercation with his parents. According to court records, he attacked his mother and father at their home on 31st Avenue in January 2021 while he lived there. After moving out, he was accused of violating a stay-away order that year and in early 2022. According to the San Francisco Standard, Marc Child’s then-girlfriend also got a restraining order against him in 2019 when he punched her at her home in Orange County. 

During the public comment portion of the town hall, Scott said that there was an officer who arrived at the scene with a “less lethal force option” but by that time the shooting had already occurred. Scott pushed back on another commenter who felt that there weren’t enough de-escalation efforts by police during the incident. 

“When you watch the video I think you’ll see there were efforts to create space between the person who was shot (Child) and the officers,” Scott said. “We can’t make the policy determination at this point, but I do invite you to re-watch that video.” 

“Since the day of the incident, I’ve been communicating with community leaders, neighbors and stakeholders to address concerns,” said Richmond Station Capt. Chris Canning. “I want to assure the community that Richmond Station remains committed to partnering with the community to improve public safety.”

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins will evaluate the legality of the shooting, Scott said during the town hall. The Office of the Medical Examiner will also conduct an autopsy to determine Child’s cause of death. 

Source : https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s-f-police-release-video-fatal-officer-shooting-18179168.php