Police fatally shot a man after he entered a restricted parking lot at San Francisco's Mission police station, then reached for a replica gun inside his waistband, officials said.
Gate open to restricted area #SF #Mission police station after 2 sgts shot & killed man who @sfpd says reached 4 gun
According to the San Francisco Police Department, three sergeants noticed the man loitering Sunday evening in the parking lot and told him to leave. He started to walk away, but as the sergeants walked to their cars, he was standing in the driveway and blocking their path, police said.
The man began to back away with his hands in his shirt pockets, police said, and the sergeants asked him to show them his hands. Instead, he lifted his sweater to show what looked like the butt of a handgun in his waistband, police said.
"Fearing for their safety and in the defense of their lives, the sergeants drew their service weapons as the suspect pulled the weapon from his waistband," police said.
Two of the sergeants fired, and the man was shot three times. The weapon turned out to be a BB or pellet pistol. The orange plastic tip indicating that it was a fake gun had been removed.
The man, identified as 32-year-old Matthew Hoffman, was taken to a hospital where he died from his injuries. The sergeants were placed on paid administrative leave pending investigations launched by the police department, the district attorney's office, and the Office of Citizen Complaints.
Dear Officer(s),You did nothing wrong. You ended the life of a man who was too much of a coward to do it himself. I provoked you. I threatened your life as well as the lives of those around me. You were completely within your legal rights to do what you did. You followed protocols. You did everything right. I just want to find peace within myself. I am so sad and I am so lonely. There is no place for me here. Please, don't blame yourself. I used you. I took advantage of you. I am so lost and I am so hopeless. God made a mistake with me. I shouldn't be here. Please, take solace in knowing that the situation was out of your control. You had no other choice.
Before he was shot, Hoffman had approached other San Francisco police officers who were responding to a call in the area.
SFPD: Man shot & killed last night had earlier contact w/ officers; asked about their guns. http://t.co/E8TsVvconn
He asked the officers what kinds of guns and ammunition San Francisco police officers carry, and if they had been involved in any shootings. The officers continued responding to the unrelated call, and he eventually left.
A town hall meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening to discuss the shooting with members of the community.
