Death of Alex Nieto

The death of Alejandro "Alex" Nieto occurred on March 21, 2014 in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Nieto was shot by four San Francisco Police Department officers while he was eating his dinner in the park before a night shift at work. A confrontation between Nieto and another civilian led to a bystander calling 911. Nieto was wearing a taser. Police claim that Nieto pointed the taser at them. Police claimed to have believed that the taser was a firearm.^[1]

The San Francisco County District Attorney's Office declined to file criminal charges against the four officers involved in the shooting. Nieto's family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, alleging wrongful death. In March 2016, a jury cleared the four officers of all charges.

Background

Nieto, 28, was born on March 3, 1986 in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California, to parents Refugio Nieto and Elvira Nieto (née Rodriguez), Mexican immigrants from the town of Tarimoro, Guanajuato.^[2][3]

When he was younger, he worked as a youth counselor at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center for over four years.^[1] He also spent two years in the San Francisco Police Activities League (PAL).

In 2007, Nieto obtained a California state license to work as a security guard.^[1]

Nieto graduated from the community college, City College of San Francisco, with a concentration in criminal justice. During this time he held an internship at the City of San Francisco's juvenile probation department.^[1]

He was a Buddhist.^[1]

Event

Nieto worked as a bouncer at a local nightclub. Around 7:00 pm on the night of March 21, 2014, he was walking along the path on a hilltop park called Bernal Heights Park eating tortilla chips, wearing a red San Francisco 49ers jacket, black 49ers cap, white t-shirt, black pants. Under his 49ers jacket, he wore a holstered taser covered in bright yellow marks that he used for his job. A local resident named Evan Snow who was in his 30s and worked in the computer industry had been walking his dog. Snow's dog wanted Nieto's chips and as a result pushed Nieto onto some benches. Snow was not attending his dog, was at least 40 feet away. Words were exchanged and Nieto and Snow went their separate ways. Snow allegedly used racial slurs and texted a friend that "in another state like Florida, I would have been justified in shooting Mr. Nieto that night." Tim Isgitt and partner Justin Fritz were walking their dog shortly thereafter. Noting a rattled Nieto who had his hand on his taser, Fritz called 911, reporting a man with a handgun wearing a red jacket that is often associated with gang colors.^[1]

Police Lieutenant Jason Sawyer and rookie officer Richard Schiff confronted Nieto as he was walking on a path. Their testimony was that he pointed the taser at them when asked to show his hands. Officers Roger Morse and Nathan Chew provided backup and fired another 14 rounds, claiming they saw muzzle fire, although tasers do not display this type of response.^[1] According to a report by the city's District Attorney George Gascón, the officers fired a total of 59 shots: Schiff went through an entire magazine, shooting 23 bullets at Nieto while Sawyer fired 20 bullets, allegedly in response to Nieto pointing a taser, which they mistook for a pistol.^[4] There is audio of the police dispatch call.^[5]

Lawsuit

Alex's parents retained the Law Offices of John Burris and filed a federal civil rights claim arguing the police wrongfully shot their son. ^[6][7] The trial ended on March 10, 2016, a jury unanimously cleared the four officers of all charges. It was found that the taser's clock, the weapon’s trigger, was pulled.^[8] Nieto's prior issues with mental health were discussed, as toxicology reports found he was not on medication when he was killed. Also discussed were two separate incidents in 2011 when Nieto had contact with law enforcement and resulted in 72-hour mental health holds. The family argued that the police used excessive force and that there was contradictory evidence and details about what happened.^[9][10]

Response

Elvira Nieto, mother of Alex Nieto, speaks at a March 2016 protest against police violence.

Nieto's death and the verdict sparked waves of demonstrations and rallies in the Bay Area,^[11] protesting against police brutality and excessive use of force against minority groups amidst calls for SFPD Chief Greg Suhr's resignation.^[12] In March 2016, on the day before Nieto's trial started, San Francisco public school children staged a walk out from school in protest.^[1]

The protests and the ensuing debate also emphasized the need for policing reforms^[13] and the threats faced by Latino communities increasingly displaced by gentrification in the city.^[1][14] After the publication of the verdict, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California published a piece pointing at racial bias within SFPD and calling for urgent policing reform.^[15] On April 21, 2016, 5 protesters started a 17-day hunger strike in San Francisco's Mission District to demonstrate against recent police killings, including Alex Nieto's death.^{[16][17][18][19][20][21]}

On May 19, 2016, Police Chief Suhr resigned after an officer-involved killing of a 29-year-old female. Jessica Williams was shot once by San Francisco police in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood during a car chase.^[22]

See also

• Frisco Five
• History of the San Francisco Police Department
• List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States, March 2014
• Shooting of Andy Lopez

References

External links

• Justice for Alex Nieto