Attorney General gets three months to review deadly shooting by SFPD
SAN FRANCISCO - State Attorney General Rob Bonta's office was granted three months to review a controversial deadly San Francisco police shooting that has become a legal roller coaster.
The state's top prosecutor will decide whether to take over the prosecution of former San Francisco police Officer Christopher Samayoa for fatally shooting Keita O'Neil from a moving police car in 2017.
"We about to get busy. We about to work fast and hard with attorney general," said April Green, O'Neil's aunt. "This is a good day. I feel very confident that Attorney General Bonta will give fresh eyes to this case."
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins wants to toss a manslaughter charge against Samayoa.
Jenkins said her predecessor Chesa Boudin filed the charge for political reasons, which Boudin has denied.
On Tuesday, an attorney with the AG's office asked Judge Loretta Giorgi of the San Francisco Superior Court to delay dismissing the case for 90 days. This will give the AG more time to determine whether his office will prosecute the former officer.
"It confirms that the attorney general is looking at this case very seriously," said Brian Ford, an attorney for O'Neil's family. "We are fully committed to this case and we fully believe that upon an objective of the facts and the law in this case, that Mr. Bonta and his office will see fit to continue this prosecution."
MORE: Family of man killed by SFPD officer critical of DA's plan to dismiss charges
In 2017, O'Neil was a carjacking suspect who led police on a chase that ended abruptly in a public-housing project in the Bayview.
Samayoa, a rookie officer riding as a passenger, shot and killed O'Neil within seconds through the window of a moving police car.
The officer was fired.
O'Neil's family and others have staged protests against Jenkins for trying to throw out the case. Green said Bonta will not follow suit.
"We have a relationship. He’s opened the door. Jenkins used to slam the door," Green said.