Officer say the man, who has not been identified, was loitering in the restricted area of the police parking lot around 5 p.m. A pair of sergeants approached the suspect and instructed the man to leave the restricted parking lot. The suspect initially did what he was told and started to walk toward the driveway out of the police station.

Then things turned bad.
According to Officer Albie Esparza, the sergeants were walking to their vehicles when they noticed the man had not actually left the lot, as he was told. “He was now was standing in the middle of the driveway staring at them and blocking their exit,” he says.

The cops got out of their cars and once again asked the man to leave.

The man began to back out of the parking lot, facing the sergeants with his hands in his front shirt pockets. The sergeants ordered the man to show his hands.

“Upon clearing the threshold of the parking lot, he lifted up his sweater and officers could see what appeared to be the butt of a handgun,” Esparza says. “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. Two sergeants discharged their firearms, striking the suspect three times.”

The man was taken to San Francisco General Hospital where he died just before 8 p.m. Medical authorities had not identified him as of this morning.

It was later discovered the weapon was an air pistol (either a BB or pellet), Esparza says.

Police say the man was lingering around the police station earlier that day, asking officers what kind of guns SFPD carry, what kind of ammunition, and if they’d had been involved in any officer-involved shootings. The officers did not interact with the curious man, but carried on investigating another call for service at 16th and Mission streets. The man stayed around the area but eventually left.

Police say the shooting is being investigated by the department’s Homicide Detail, Internal Affairs Division, District Attorney’s Office and Office of Citizen Complaints as standard protocol. The sergeants will be placed on standard paid administrative leave.

A town hall meeting discussing the officer involved shooting will be forthcoming in the next week. Stay tuned.