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Mario Woods
CBS San Francisco Screenshot
The U.S. Department of Justice is set to open a investigation of the San Francisco Police Department after disturbing video captured the shooting of a young black man and, in a separate incident, some officers reportedly shared homophobic and racist text messages.
According to the Los Angeles Times, details of the review are expected to be released Monday afternoon.
Mario Woods, 26, was armed with a knife when he was fatally shot by San Francisco police. The shooting, which was captured on cellphone video, immediately went viral and showed several officers firing Woods, who appeared to have already been injured.
The shooting sparked protest inkling a march on Saturday in which hundreds of people gather to call for the firing of San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr, the L.A. Times reports.
Cellphone footage captures the moment that 26-year-old Mario Woods was fatally shot by San Francisco police.
CBS News Screenshot
“This is a golden opportunity for everyone to take a look at the San Francisco Police Department,” John Burris, the lawyer for Woods’ family, told a news conference earlier this month. Burris added that all five officers that reportedly fired on Woods acted like a “firing squad,” the L.A. Times reports.
In December a judged ruled that several officers who’d exchanged racist and homophobic text messages would not lose their jobs because the Police Department waited too long to address the issue.
“The fact that San Francisco is forced to retain police officers that demonstrated explicit racism will have ramifications for the reputation of the department, the fair administration of justice, and the trust of the community SFPD serves,” Dist. Atty. George Gascon said after the ruling, the L.A. Times reports.
Read more at the Los Angeles Times.
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