Distrust and anger prevail as Police Chief Bill Scott and others sit and listen
After police attempted to get armed-robbery suspect Adolfo Jesus Delgado-Duarte to show his hands, the 19-year-old fired one shot from the trunk of a Honda Civic last week on Capp Street. Ten of the police officers surrounding the black Honda Civic responded with 99 shots, hitting the suspect 25 times, Capt. Valerie Matthews told community members at a meeting at Cesar Chavez Elementary Monday evening.
At a Town Hall meeting Monday, 200 hundred community members, including his brother, sister and father, remained angry and unsatisfied as they listened to the police give their account of the incident that began last Tuesday night around 11 p.m., when two victims flagged down a patrol car to say they had been robbed at gunpoint.
Many insisted that the officers did not do enough to de-escalate the situation that ended in the 19-year-old’s death and a block riddled with bullet holes and broken windows from the ricochets.
“You are nothing but murderers,” said Duarte’s brother, Victor Torres, during public comment, as Police Chief Bill Scott, Mission Captain Gaetano Caltagirone, and Matthews sat in silence. “I fucking hate you guys, I swear!” he added, looking tired and overwhelmed by anger and sadness.
Torres was joined by Duarte’s father, Jose Delgado, and Duarte’s sister, Patricia Torres, who largely sat in a trance as police recounted the events and showed body cam footage of the events that ultimately led to their family member’s demise.
Police Chief Scott apologized to the family for their loss, and stressed that the investigation of what exactly happened is still underway.
In the footage police showed, a young man gets out of the Honda Civic and walks north on Capp Street. He later runs back and jumps into the trunk of the same car.
The officers ordered the car to stop, while more officers responded to the scene. The driver of the car, identified as Victor Navarro Flores, surrendered after officers ordered him out of the car. Meanwhile, Duarte could be seen in the trunk, she said.
Officers ordered Duarte to show both of his hands and to get out of the trunk, first in English and later in Spanish through a megaphone. When he did not leave the trunk, officers shot a beanbag round.
Soon after, Matthews and, Duarte pointed a 9mm handgun at the officers and fired a shot, at which point 10 officers fired on the young man, who died at the scene.
A third person, identified as Christina Juarez Alfaro, got out of the car and was detained.
Navarro Flores was charged him with one count of second-degree robbery and has been on conditional release from jail, while Juarez Alfaro has been released with no charges.
The 10 officers involved in the shootout are on paid administrative leave. Their names are being withheld for another four days.
Police showed five videos that appeared to support their version of events but threw community members into a blind rage. After one of the videos in which officers are seen firing on Duarte, the community erupted, chanting, “Asesinos! Asesinos!”
Throughout the course of the evening, most community members who spoke during public comment challenged the notion that police did everything they could to lure Duarte out of the trunk peacefully. Although police said they were open to taking questions, community members who went to the microphone spoke to police or turned to address the community.
“Where was the de-escalation?” asked Marjory Rodriguez, one of Duarte’s young friends without pausing for an answer. “Why was a translator called so late?”
The body-camera footage shows officers initially ordering Duarte out of the trunk in English, and only later in Spanish.
Duarte came to the United States from Mexico as a child and began his schooling at Bryant Elementary. He graduated from Life Learning Academy high school on Treasure Island. As a child, he spent much of his time at the Boys and Girls Club on 21st and Alabama. In the year leading up to the incident, he worked at the Metro PCS store at 20th and Mission streets.
Some who spoke said that police did not spend enough time working with Duarte. They said police could have used community members’ voices to persuade him to come out.
“Adolfo was one of my kids,” said Susanna Rojas, a Mission Neighborhood Centers employee who worked with Duarte as a child. “I was there — you could have called me.”
Ivan Prado, who worked with Duarte as a 10-year-old, said he had encouraged Duarte to participate in SFPD’s wilderness program, during which he hiked with SFPD officers on Treasure Island.
“I asked him to challenge the narrative that exists between police and brown young men,” Prado said.
Prado noted that he frequently encourages young people to sign up for SFPD’s community-engagement programs. “So when you ask us to engage with you in the community, and we ask you to engage back, call us in for those moments,” he said, referring to the incident. “Don’t just call us in for the show!”
Others challenged Scott who, throughout the nearly two and a half hours of public comment, listened silently, taking notes and sometimes nodding in recognition.
“When is this gonna stop, Scott? This is on your shoulders. It’s under your watch now,” said Rafael Picazo, a Mission resident.
“Mr. Scott, we are extremely disappointed in you,” said Mesha Irizarry of the Idriss Stelley Foundation, which was founded in memory of her son, a 23-year-old man who was killed by police 2001. “Enough talk about the kind and nice police department that engages with the community.”
She noted that she’s heard a lot of talk of reform but has seen no changes. “It’s a shame we have to talk to you over and over again,” she said.
Body cam footage and notes from SFPD on the incident.
So now any Cop can shoot back at any anyone for just firing one shot at them? This is BS they have no idea if he shot on purpose or if was because of the Cops actions the gun when off on accidentally. People are saying the young man that was killed had just robbed someone at gun point, well obviously he didn’t shoot the alleged victim so it’s nit like he was violent. Plus these robbery victims use a lot of theatrics when the Cops show up just so they’ll take them seriously “boo whoo I got a gun pulled on me and they took my wallet.” Most of the time the victims almost always create these situations. we need more Police reform they cant just shot people because they get shot at, that’s NOT what we pay them for, they work for us, it may be time to disarm them!
So we’re supposed to feel sorry for someone who robbed people at gunpoint, and then shot at police ? Give me a break !
The latino community needs to take responsibility for why there youth are robbing people, carrying firearms and shooting at police in the first place! The SFPD did everything by the book and in-line with protecting the greater community and themselves from this dangerous criminal. Why is the latino community gaining effort to blame others for their own short-comings and failures in this instance. This is damaging and re-enforces the wrong message to their youth. The message should be, “If you commit armed robbery and shoot at police, being shot dead by police is a likely outcome.”. Take responsibility and make change!!
I feel much more sympathy for the victims of Adolfo Jesus Delgado-Duarte… they’re the ones we should be looking after at this time. It’s terrifying to be robbed at gunpoint. Sometimes these robbery victims are shot and killed… this time the victims were lucky, and it’s very rare that these criminals are caught. And I’m sure Delgado didn’t need an interpreter to understand what was going on. He’s been in San Francisco since he was a kid, and grew up in SF Public schools. What I see here is a community with complete lack of empathy for the “other.” The man or woman on the street who is victimized by these criminals.
It’s these violent criminals who are putting the community in danger. and to see a whole room full of people jumping in and defending this kid is actually sickening. Here’s a Dreamer who, by all descriptions, had the support of his community, mentors, community programs, seemingly a loving family (they’re out there supporting him now), and a job. Where were they to tell him about what is right and wrong.. At this point, all I see is a bunch of enablers. Of course young people are not going to learn lessons about what is right and wrong when their parents and family say they did nothing wrong, even when they are pointing a gun in someone’s face, and shooting at police. Their words now ring hollow. Who knows how many other robberies Delgado-Duarte has committed, and how many other victims he’s left behind. Where is the empathy for crime victims?
I understand and support police reforms. But let’s face it… armed robbery is a dangerous job. His accomplices came out fine because they followed orders and didn’t fire at police. In this case, the community should be standing up and saying to SFPD: “Thank you, We know you have a very difficult job and are faced with violence every day. Thank you for helping to take the dangerous and violent ones out of our community.”
Mission Local.. please change the notes to facts.. the person who was shot in self defense was Attempted Murderer and Armed robber ( not suspected robber ) Adolfo Jesus Delgado-Duarte. Where is Eric Arguello, President of Calle 24 when this meeting was going on? Oh yeah.. he was at City Hall complaining about how an apartment to replace a Laundromat was destroying the Mission which tells you where his priority lies. The inability of these activists to acknowledge the truth and that all they care for is political points at all cost is what is destroying the Mission. The lack of responsibility and sense of perpetual victimization is what allows criminals to infect and multiply in the neighborhood at all times of day and night. Take some responsibility folks. The family of Delgado should have marched to the Mission Station immediately after watching the videos to apologize on how they have failed in their upbringing up their son and apologize how in front of the world, their son attempted to murder police officers who were doing their duty
When SFPD so much as ‘blinks’ the wrong way, it turns into a backlash. It’s not about the SFPD, of course. It’s just an opportunity to vent anger about other things. But picking incidents like to use as lightening rods for anger substantially dilutes the seriousness with which the anger is heard, leading to the endless cycle.
Tying SFPD’s hands has had the effect of making SF a very high property crime city, and will likely face some backlash in of itself from voters that are getting tired of it. Some forms of violent crime has ticket up slightly as well.
There’s a rational way and the emotional way. The emotional way prevails more and more often.
Maybe his family should have taught him that committing armed robbery and shooting at the police were not the right things to do.
Mesha Irizarry is the mother of Idriss Stelley who was murdered by the SFPD at the Metreon theater in 2001. Thank you for your story.
Here is a link that provides lots of details: https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Death-at-Metreon-Cops-shoot-S-F-man-who-they-2910977.php
Again, it is pretty clear that the police tried to de-escalate but were faced with deadly force.
If you want to be taken seriously, then you have to respect the truth. Calling things “murder” when they clearly aren’t is irresponsible.
The activists have claimed in many situations that the use of force by the police was unnecessary, unprovoked, unjustifiable etc. And often times the situations are unclear. But here we have multiple videos. We know the police were confronting an armed robber. We know that they gave him time to surrender. We know that the tried non-lethal force. And we know that he fired first. Yet the activists are still complaining. They have no credibility in this situation and, frankly, there is no know reason to believe their narratives about the other situations are correct.. It is clear that they care more about their politics than they do about the truth or keeping the community safe.
What’s truly tragic is this community’s lack of accountability. Absolutely zero acknowledgement this was a violent criminal that shot first. What’s worse is they actually believe they know better than law enforcement on de-escalation. And Mission Local, when are you going to represent actual victims of crime? Or the majority of us that are sick of being prey for these criminals the sad excuses these people make on their behalf? Did no one came out to support the police?
Did you bother reading the article? It clearly states that police fired first with a bean bag round. Not saying that this should have gone any other way, but it’s simply not true to say that he shot first.
Tazers folks. Tazers. Would have prevented the dudes death. RIP Duarte.
What an embarrassment and denial from our Latino community here in the Mission. All I heard was excuses and denial from friends and family of Jesus Delgado during the meeting. The reality is that Jesus fired a shot from his pistol towards Police after several commands to come out with his hands up. All of Jesus’s friends and family need to come to terms with that. There is no one to blame for his death but Jesus and his actions. Jesus Delgado was a criminal and NOT a role model of the community.”When is this gonna stop, Scott? This is on your shoulders. It’s under your watch now,” said Rafael Picazo, a Mission resident. When is going to stop you ask? It’s going to stop when people get wise and start making the right choices in their life. When we start educating our youth on making positive changes to their lives. It’s not on the Police’s shoulders it’s on YOUR shoulders Mr. Picazo, it’s on the communities shoulders. we need to stop glorifying violence and stereotyping ourselves. To those at the meeting yelling “Assissinos! Assissinos!” I felt like yelling back “ladrón, atracador, salteador” because that is what Jesus Delgado was, a criminal robbing resident’s of the Mission with a gun pointed at their faces. Yes, harsh words but that is the reality. His Family failed him, His friends failed him and the Mission failed him.
“I asked him to challenge the narrative that exists between police and brown young men,” Prado said.
When you start firing a pistol at police officers the dialogue, indeed, changes.
It’s certainly a tragedy that more to de-escalate the situation didn’t occur, and hopefully given the Chief’s presence at the meeting, things will change. But to call the police assassins and murders is beyond absurd. If you’ve got a gun and you’re shooting at cops, well, I’m sorry but what do you expect? A trunk-side guidance counseling session? Rather than grilling the cops, maybe the ‘community’ – those close to the armed robbery suspect per comments in the meeting – should ask themselves how they can help prevent future tragedies. How does a gainfully-employed and apparently engaged member of the community wind up a gun-toting armed robbery suspect?
It is difficult to de-escalate when someone fires at you. And once they discovered Delgado — an armed criminal — in the trunk, it would have been unsafe and irresponsible for the police to do anything other than keep their guns trained on him.
I agree!
I would have agreed to this comment before learning about the systematic oppression youth of color suffer in this country. It is easy to excuse police brutality when it’s a brown kid doing something. This is a whole subject of study and even if he was commiting a crime, which many youth are engaged in due to lack of opportunities, he do not deserve to be executed. He was shot while civilians and a female friend was still in the car. 99 bullets is an excessive use of authority and a proof of institutionalized racism.
In every officer involved shooting (and there is a sadly long list of them), activists claim that the police should not have used lethal force. They claim that the person wasn’t a danger, wasn’t a criminal, didn’t have weapon or that the police acted too quickly or should have used non lethal force. In many of these facts are unclear and the truth is difficult to determine.
However, in this case, the facts are absolutely clear. The police were in hot pursuit of a criminal with a handgun. They gave him ample time to surrender and attempted to use non-lethal force. He responded by firing at them with a handgun. So they used lethal force against. Those are the facts. They are not dispute.
But the activists are still complaining about the police.
It seems to me pretty clear the activists care more about their politics than they do about the truth. And if that is true in this case, I can only assume that it is true in every other case. So in all those other cases that they discuss, my best assumption now is that the police actions were justified — because I know that the people claiming otherwise don’t care about the truth.
At some point, the activists will need to decide if they care about the truth. Or if their political posturing is more important than protecting the community from dangerous criminals. But until they make that decision, I will assume that their complaints have no merit.