6-8-06 RIP Asa Sullivan **FUCK THA POLICE**
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- Start date
SAN FRANCISCO: Police fatally shoot man in friend's attic
Officers thought glasses case was gun and opened fire...
Asa B. Sullivan, 25, had his arms outstretched and was holding a "cylindrical object" when the officers confronted him Tuesday night in an apartment near Lake Merced, said Police Chief Heather Fong. The object turned out to be an eyeglasses case.
Another Unarmed Young Black Man
Shot Dead by SFPD on June 7, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO Police fatally shoot man in friend's attic
Officers thought glasses case was gun and opened fire...
Asa B. Sullivan, 25, had his arms outstretched and was holding a "cylindrical object" when the officers confronted him Tuesday night in an apartment near Lake Merced, said Police Chief Heather Fong. The object turned out to be an eyeglasses case.
Police refused to release the officers' names, saying only that one was a male officer with four years' experience on the force and the other was a female officer with the department for three years.
The chief conceded that police had given a preliminary account of the shooting to reporters that turned out to have several errors.
Police originally said that Sullivan was armed and had fired through the ceiling, narrowly missing one officer, and that two other officers then opened fire into the ceiling.
A revised update was provided late Wednesday afternoon. The round that went through the floor was a ricochet fired by one of the two officers in the attic, police said.
Fong said she would not identify the officers "at this time,'' adding the officers were on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
Sullivan's mother, Kathleen Espinosa of Van Nuys (Los Angeles County), said her son had been working for Goodwill Industries in San Francisco. She said that he was not a violent person.
"It was not a justified shooting,'' she said. "There was no weapon, so it was not justified. There are so many ways to do things these days, there's no reason to do this.''
ASA had been doing bricklaying for a short time after the robbery conviction and had later told police he was a caregiver. He also had a 5-year-old son.
Asa Sullivan is SFPD murder victim number 17 over the past 10 years. Asa, like all of the 8 other young Black victim of cop murder over the past decade, was shot while unarmed.
Officers thought glasses case was gun and opened fire...
Asa B. Sullivan, 25, had his arms outstretched and was holding a "cylindrical object" when the officers confronted him Tuesday night in an apartment near Lake Merced, said Police Chief Heather Fong. The object turned out to be an eyeglasses case.
Another Unarmed Young Black Man
Shot Dead by SFPD on June 7, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO Police fatally shoot man in friend's attic
Officers thought glasses case was gun and opened fire...
Asa B. Sullivan, 25, had his arms outstretched and was holding a "cylindrical object" when the officers confronted him Tuesday night in an apartment near Lake Merced, said Police Chief Heather Fong. The object turned out to be an eyeglasses case.
Police refused to release the officers' names, saying only that one was a male officer with four years' experience on the force and the other was a female officer with the department for three years.
The chief conceded that police had given a preliminary account of the shooting to reporters that turned out to have several errors.
Police originally said that Sullivan was armed and had fired through the ceiling, narrowly missing one officer, and that two other officers then opened fire into the ceiling.
A revised update was provided late Wednesday afternoon. The round that went through the floor was a ricochet fired by one of the two officers in the attic, police said.
Fong said she would not identify the officers "at this time,'' adding the officers were on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
Sullivan's mother, Kathleen Espinosa of Van Nuys (Los Angeles County), said her son had been working for Goodwill Industries in San Francisco. She said that he was not a violent person.
"It was not a justified shooting,'' she said. "There was no weapon, so it was not justified. There are so many ways to do things these days, there's no reason to do this.''
ASA had been doing bricklaying for a short time after the robbery conviction and had later told police he was a caregiver. He also had a 5-year-old son.
Asa Sullivan is SFPD murder victim number 17 over the past 10 years. Asa, like all of the 8 other young Black victim of cop murder over the past decade, was shot while unarmed.
Two San Francisco police officers who shot and killed an unarmed man in the darkened attic of an apartment mistook him for a trespasser with a gun, police officials said Wednesday.
Asa B. Sullivan, 25, had his arms outstretched and was holding a "cylindrical object" when the officers confronted him Tuesday night in the apartment near Lake Merced, prompting them to open fire, said Police Chief Heather Fong. The object turned out to be an eyeglasses case.
Police refused to release the officers' names, saying only that one was a male officer with four years' experience on the force and the other was a female officer with the department for three years.
A department spokesman initially told reporters that Sullivan had fired at the officers through the attic floor, a version of events that police did not officially correct for more than 16 hours. Fong said the earlier story was based on a preliminary account.
The incident began when the two officers, both of whom work at Taraval station, responded to a report of an open door at a two-story townhouse at 2 Garces Drive at the Villas Parkmerced. Police were told the unit was vacant and undergoing renovation, and neighbors said they suspected squatters were living there, Fong said.
In fact, said a spokesman for the 3,200-unit complex, the unit was occupied by a man who was facing eviction but was still living there legally, and Sullivan was his guest.
The two officers quickly arrested one man when they entered the townhouse about 8:50 p.m. But Sullivan, who was on probation for dealing marijuana, fled upstairs and hid in the 2 1/2-foot-high attic, police said.
The officers followed and tried to talk Sullivan into giving up, even enlisting his companion in the effort, Fong said. Sullivan replied that he didn't want to go back to jail, the chief said.
At that point, the officers had the option of calling in a canine unit or SWAT team to flush out Sullivan, or they could have tried to wait him out, authorities said. Instead, they ventured into the attic.
Fong said events had been "constantly evolving'' and that the two officers clambered after Sullivan because they did not think they would be in danger.
The shooting occurred, Fong said, when Sullivan raised his hands and held the eyeglasses case as if it were a weapon.
"He assumed a shooting position,'' Fong said. "He held a cylindrical object and was pointing it right at the female officer.''
The male officer, believing his partner was in danger, fired first, his round grazing the female officer's head, Fong said. "She believed she was being fired at,'' and she too opened fire on Sullivan, the chief said.
''They believed this individual was pointing a firearm at them,'' Fong said. "They took action they felt was appropriate at the time.''
The chief conceded that police had given a preliminary account of the shooting to reporters that turned out to have several errors.
Police originally said that Sullivan was armed and had fired through the ceiling, narrowly missing one officer, and that two other officers then opened fire into the ceiling.
A revised update was provided late Wednesday afternoon. The round that went through the floor was a ricochet fired by one of the two officers in the attic, police said.
Fong said she would not identify the officers "at this time,'' adding the officers were on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
The department had long named officers in such shootings, until 2002. At that time police officials, citing a 1995 general order, began refusing to provide the names of officers involved in shootings.
Two years later, the Police Commission changed the rules and told the department to disclose officers' names. There is no timetable for police to do so after a shooting, however.
The police officers union threatened to sue over the issue, but no suit was filed.
Gary Delagnes, head of the union, said any disclosure could be grounds for litigation. "We are trying to get an internal agreement on this,'' he said.
Sullivan's mother, Kathleen Espinosa of Van Nuys (Los Angeles County), said her son had been working for Goodwill Industries in San Francisco. She said she heard he had been using drugs recently, but that he was not a violent person.
"It was not a justified shooting,'' she said. "There was no weapon, so it was not justified. There are so many ways to do things these days, there's no reason to do this.''
Espinosa acknowledged her son had a criminal history, including a conviction for robbery in 1999, and had struggled finding work. He had been doing bricklaying for a short time after the robbery conviction and had later told police he was a caregiver. He also had a 5-year-old son.
"He didn't want to go back to jail,'' Espinosa said. "I know his personality. He would be one to hide. He was scared.''
Delagnes said the officers who shot Sullivan were distraught. He said Sullivan had told them that he would not be taken alive and that the officers had summoned a hostage negotiator before the shooting began.
"They were absolutely beside themselves" when they found out Sullivan was unarmed, Delagnes said. "They were certain that a shot had been fired at them.''
Robert Pender, head of the Parkmerced Residents Organization, said the complex had been plagued recently by groups of young people' who have been having street parties all night long.
Fong had said that complex security had encouraged residents to report squatters in the building.
However, Bert Polacci, director of public policy for Villas Parkmerced, said the unit where Sullivan was shot was not vacant. The resident was in the process of being evicted for nonpayment of rent, but was still living there legally and Sullivan was his guest, Polacci said.
He also denied the complex had a problem with squatters or all-night parties. "We are vigilant and we take the safety of residents seriously,'' Polacci said.
Asa B. Sullivan, 25, had his arms outstretched and was holding a "cylindrical object" when the officers confronted him Tuesday night in the apartment near Lake Merced, prompting them to open fire, said Police Chief Heather Fong. The object turned out to be an eyeglasses case.
Police refused to release the officers' names, saying only that one was a male officer with four years' experience on the force and the other was a female officer with the department for three years.
A department spokesman initially told reporters that Sullivan had fired at the officers through the attic floor, a version of events that police did not officially correct for more than 16 hours. Fong said the earlier story was based on a preliminary account.
The incident began when the two officers, both of whom work at Taraval station, responded to a report of an open door at a two-story townhouse at 2 Garces Drive at the Villas Parkmerced. Police were told the unit was vacant and undergoing renovation, and neighbors said they suspected squatters were living there, Fong said.
In fact, said a spokesman for the 3,200-unit complex, the unit was occupied by a man who was facing eviction but was still living there legally, and Sullivan was his guest.
The two officers quickly arrested one man when they entered the townhouse about 8:50 p.m. But Sullivan, who was on probation for dealing marijuana, fled upstairs and hid in the 2 1/2-foot-high attic, police said.
The officers followed and tried to talk Sullivan into giving up, even enlisting his companion in the effort, Fong said. Sullivan replied that he didn't want to go back to jail, the chief said.
At that point, the officers had the option of calling in a canine unit or SWAT team to flush out Sullivan, or they could have tried to wait him out, authorities said. Instead, they ventured into the attic.
Fong said events had been "constantly evolving'' and that the two officers clambered after Sullivan because they did not think they would be in danger.
The shooting occurred, Fong said, when Sullivan raised his hands and held the eyeglasses case as if it were a weapon.
"He assumed a shooting position,'' Fong said. "He held a cylindrical object and was pointing it right at the female officer.''
The male officer, believing his partner was in danger, fired first, his round grazing the female officer's head, Fong said. "She believed she was being fired at,'' and she too opened fire on Sullivan, the chief said.
''They believed this individual was pointing a firearm at them,'' Fong said. "They took action they felt was appropriate at the time.''
The chief conceded that police had given a preliminary account of the shooting to reporters that turned out to have several errors.
Police originally said that Sullivan was armed and had fired through the ceiling, narrowly missing one officer, and that two other officers then opened fire into the ceiling.
A revised update was provided late Wednesday afternoon. The round that went through the floor was a ricochet fired by one of the two officers in the attic, police said.
Fong said she would not identify the officers "at this time,'' adding the officers were on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
The department had long named officers in such shootings, until 2002. At that time police officials, citing a 1995 general order, began refusing to provide the names of officers involved in shootings.
Two years later, the Police Commission changed the rules and told the department to disclose officers' names. There is no timetable for police to do so after a shooting, however.
The police officers union threatened to sue over the issue, but no suit was filed.
Gary Delagnes, head of the union, said any disclosure could be grounds for litigation. "We are trying to get an internal agreement on this,'' he said.
Sullivan's mother, Kathleen Espinosa of Van Nuys (Los Angeles County), said her son had been working for Goodwill Industries in San Francisco. She said she heard he had been using drugs recently, but that he was not a violent person.
"It was not a justified shooting,'' she said. "There was no weapon, so it was not justified. There are so many ways to do things these days, there's no reason to do this.''
Espinosa acknowledged her son had a criminal history, including a conviction for robbery in 1999, and had struggled finding work. He had been doing bricklaying for a short time after the robbery conviction and had later told police he was a caregiver. He also had a 5-year-old son.
"He didn't want to go back to jail,'' Espinosa said. "I know his personality. He would be one to hide. He was scared.''
Delagnes said the officers who shot Sullivan were distraught. He said Sullivan had told them that he would not be taken alive and that the officers had summoned a hostage negotiator before the shooting began.
"They were absolutely beside themselves" when they found out Sullivan was unarmed, Delagnes said. "They were certain that a shot had been fired at them.''
Robert Pender, head of the Parkmerced Residents Organization, said the complex had been plagued recently by groups of young people' who have been having street parties all night long.
Fong had said that complex security had encouraged residents to report squatters in the building.
However, Bert Polacci, director of public policy for Villas Parkmerced, said the unit where Sullivan was shot was not vacant. The resident was in the process of being evicted for nonpayment of rent, but was still living there legally and Sullivan was his guest, Polacci said.
He also denied the complex had a problem with squatters or all-night parties. "We are vigilant and we take the safety of residents seriously,'' Polacci said.
Those truly are lies the entire way through. Not a squatter, shooting stance in a crawlspace, "appeared" to have a gun, building was not abandoned. I'm really sorry you have to deal with this injustice musty. This is one of those situations where nothing good can readily be learned from the experience.
RIP
RIP
First off, RIP to Asa. Secondly, I grew up in Parkmerced, and me and my boys have snuck into and chilled in so many fucking empty apartments in that whole fucking complex, that and the fact that I've been in all my friends apts growing up around there, I've been in every fucking different apt in Parkmerced, and there ain't no fucking "attics" in those apts., just upstairs rooms. Sounds like a shady police cover up. Fuck those punk bitches. RIP man.
Why is Asa Sullivan dead?
After two weeks, the San Francisco Police Department still can't get its story straight — but the questions are mounting
By G.W. Schulz
> [email protected]
Kahlil Sullivan hasn't had time to do much lately other than plan for his younger brother's funeral. He hasn't even had time to find out exactly why his brother is dead.
"We feel like we're lost," he said over the phone a week after his cornered and unarmed brother was shot and killed by the San Francisco Police Department.
The cops have offered two stories as to why officers fired a still-undisclosed number of bullets into the body of Asa Sullivan on June 6. And neither one seems to make much sense or explain why they shot Sullivan.
Meanwhile, the family hasn't been offered a dime for burial expenses from the Victim Services Division of the District Attorney's Office. The state won't spend money to help the families of former felons, but there's local money available too. That's off-limits, it turns out, because the SFPD hasn't classified Sullivan's death as an "unlawful killing," according to the DA's office.
Sullivan's mother, Kathleen Espinosa, even told us on the day of his funeral, June 15, that the department did not provide a liaison to the family, as the Office of Citizen Complaints two years ago recommended the SFPD do for the families of officer-involved shooting victims.
In fact, Espinosa hasn't heard a word from the department. Everything she knows has come largely from two stories in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Espinosa, a short, relentlessly cheerful woman with chestnut hair, held a smile throughout her son's funeral while hugging Sullivan's tearful young friends. She said any new information from the department right now hardly matters.
"Let them get their story straight first before they come to me," she said. "I don't want another wrong story."
According to early reports, Sullivan and his friend, 25-year-old Jason Martin, were staying with two tenants at a Villas Parkmerced townhouse, part of a 3,200-unit complex close to the San Francisco State University campus. Sullivan had been in some trouble in the past; his criminal record included an armed robbery, and he was on probation for selling pot. But he'd secured a job at Goodwill and had a six-year-old son to look after.
Martin and Sullivan were helping to clean up the townhouse so their friends could receive their security deposit when they moved out. The tenants were being evicted for not paying rent, but a Parkmerced official told the media that the tenants were still legally living there.
The cops said a neighbor called the police, believing the unit had been taken over by nonresidents. Police Chief Heather Fong insisted in press statements that the complex was having problems with squatters. But Parkmerced public policy director Bert Polacci told the Guardian that the complex had no such problems. If the cops had called him, he might have cleared up the residency status of the occupants of 2 Garces Drive.
When Officers Michelle Alvis and John Keesor arrived, they immediately detained Martin, in response to the neighbor's complaint. Sullivan, who feared going to jail for a probation violation, fled to a two-and-a-half-foot-high attic space.
The officers attempted to talk him down with Martin's help but eventually went into the attic. Martin later insisted, according to Espinosa, that he told the officers Sullivan was unarmed before they went after him.
The way the cops tell it, Sullivan — who would have been unable to stand up in the tiny space — took a combative stance from inside the attic, and the officers believed he had aimed a gun at them.
The department first reported that Sullivan had shot at the officers through the attic floor. Further, the cops reported that Sullivan's gun was found at the scene. The truth is, all they found was the case to a pair of eyeglasses.
SFPD spokesperson Neville Gittens told us only that the first story was based on "secondhand information" and "witness statements."
The official story changed several hours after the department offered its first explanation of what happened. According to Gittens, Keesor fired first, and a ricochet nicked his partner's ear, "perhaps" causing her to fire as well. When the smoke cleared, Sullivan was dead. No gun was ever found.
"They got flashlights," Sullivan's brother Kahlil exclaimed. "Can't they see his hands? Why didn't they ask him questions first? We may never know the truth."
One of the two officers had their flashlights on, Gittens said, but he couldn't confirm whether the illumination was enough to identify exactly what was in Sullivan's hand. Gittens told the Guardian that Fong has not yet made a decision about whether to return the officers to regular duty.
Gittens initially refused on June 9 to release the names of the officers involved to the Guardian, but the day after we asked for them, they appeared in the Chronicle. And the department has not yet responded to a Guardian request for documents associated with the shooting.
In 2004, the police commission voted unanimously to conditionally require the disclosure of incident reports to the families of officer-involved shooting victims as swiftly as possible. That change, and the request that the SFPD provide a liaison to the family, were inspired by the death of Cammerin Boyd, who was shot and killed in the spring of 2004 by SFPD officers following a car chase.
But during several subsequent commission meetings, the recommendations disappeared into the ether. And it's not the first time that proposed reforms were simply ignored by the SFPD, a fact commission vice president Theresa Sparks readily admits.
"I was a little surprised the chief released the names as fast as she did," Sparks told us.
Sparks nonetheless said that she is still troubled by the so-far inconsistent stories the department has offered to the public and the commission.
"The first story that came out was totally incorrect, [and] the chief could not tell us why the story changed," Sparks said. "It's criminal that these families sit there with no specific knowledge about what happened."
Sullivan's funeral was attended by his siblings — Kahlil, brother Sangh, and sisters T-sha Sullivan and Tasha Mosby-Greer — and a capacity crowd of Asa's friends and other family, all in Duggan's Funeral Home, right across from the Mission Police Station.
Born on Sept. 8, 1980, Asa grew up in San Francisco and attended Bay Area schools. Friends remembered his playful sense of humor. For a time recently, he stayed with his mom while working at Goodwill, commuting from San Jose at 5 a.m. and returning late.
"He made everybody laugh," Espinosa said. "He didn't deserve to be cornered in an attic and gunned down."
The family has contacted Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris, who told the Guardian that during his handling of hundreds of officer-misconduct cases, he’s seen families victimized by police denied documents, explanations, and the truth.
"If there's one thing I've found, it's police agencies do a disservice to the victim's family when they don't provide information," Burris said. "When the families ask questions, they don't respond." SFBG
After two weeks, the San Francisco Police Department still can't get its story straight — but the questions are mounting
By G.W. Schulz
> [email protected]
Kahlil Sullivan hasn't had time to do much lately other than plan for his younger brother's funeral. He hasn't even had time to find out exactly why his brother is dead.
"We feel like we're lost," he said over the phone a week after his cornered and unarmed brother was shot and killed by the San Francisco Police Department.
The cops have offered two stories as to why officers fired a still-undisclosed number of bullets into the body of Asa Sullivan on June 6. And neither one seems to make much sense or explain why they shot Sullivan.
Meanwhile, the family hasn't been offered a dime for burial expenses from the Victim Services Division of the District Attorney's Office. The state won't spend money to help the families of former felons, but there's local money available too. That's off-limits, it turns out, because the SFPD hasn't classified Sullivan's death as an "unlawful killing," according to the DA's office.
Sullivan's mother, Kathleen Espinosa, even told us on the day of his funeral, June 15, that the department did not provide a liaison to the family, as the Office of Citizen Complaints two years ago recommended the SFPD do for the families of officer-involved shooting victims.
In fact, Espinosa hasn't heard a word from the department. Everything she knows has come largely from two stories in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Espinosa, a short, relentlessly cheerful woman with chestnut hair, held a smile throughout her son's funeral while hugging Sullivan's tearful young friends. She said any new information from the department right now hardly matters.
"Let them get their story straight first before they come to me," she said. "I don't want another wrong story."
According to early reports, Sullivan and his friend, 25-year-old Jason Martin, were staying with two tenants at a Villas Parkmerced townhouse, part of a 3,200-unit complex close to the San Francisco State University campus. Sullivan had been in some trouble in the past; his criminal record included an armed robbery, and he was on probation for selling pot. But he'd secured a job at Goodwill and had a six-year-old son to look after.
Martin and Sullivan were helping to clean up the townhouse so their friends could receive their security deposit when they moved out. The tenants were being evicted for not paying rent, but a Parkmerced official told the media that the tenants were still legally living there.
The cops said a neighbor called the police, believing the unit had been taken over by nonresidents. Police Chief Heather Fong insisted in press statements that the complex was having problems with squatters. But Parkmerced public policy director Bert Polacci told the Guardian that the complex had no such problems. If the cops had called him, he might have cleared up the residency status of the occupants of 2 Garces Drive.
When Officers Michelle Alvis and John Keesor arrived, they immediately detained Martin, in response to the neighbor's complaint. Sullivan, who feared going to jail for a probation violation, fled to a two-and-a-half-foot-high attic space.
The officers attempted to talk him down with Martin's help but eventually went into the attic. Martin later insisted, according to Espinosa, that he told the officers Sullivan was unarmed before they went after him.
The way the cops tell it, Sullivan — who would have been unable to stand up in the tiny space — took a combative stance from inside the attic, and the officers believed he had aimed a gun at them.
The department first reported that Sullivan had shot at the officers through the attic floor. Further, the cops reported that Sullivan's gun was found at the scene. The truth is, all they found was the case to a pair of eyeglasses.
SFPD spokesperson Neville Gittens told us only that the first story was based on "secondhand information" and "witness statements."
The official story changed several hours after the department offered its first explanation of what happened. According to Gittens, Keesor fired first, and a ricochet nicked his partner's ear, "perhaps" causing her to fire as well. When the smoke cleared, Sullivan was dead. No gun was ever found.
"They got flashlights," Sullivan's brother Kahlil exclaimed. "Can't they see his hands? Why didn't they ask him questions first? We may never know the truth."
One of the two officers had their flashlights on, Gittens said, but he couldn't confirm whether the illumination was enough to identify exactly what was in Sullivan's hand. Gittens told the Guardian that Fong has not yet made a decision about whether to return the officers to regular duty.
Gittens initially refused on June 9 to release the names of the officers involved to the Guardian, but the day after we asked for them, they appeared in the Chronicle. And the department has not yet responded to a Guardian request for documents associated with the shooting.
In 2004, the police commission voted unanimously to conditionally require the disclosure of incident reports to the families of officer-involved shooting victims as swiftly as possible. That change, and the request that the SFPD provide a liaison to the family, were inspired by the death of Cammerin Boyd, who was shot and killed in the spring of 2004 by SFPD officers following a car chase.
But during several subsequent commission meetings, the recommendations disappeared into the ether. And it's not the first time that proposed reforms were simply ignored by the SFPD, a fact commission vice president Theresa Sparks readily admits.
"I was a little surprised the chief released the names as fast as she did," Sparks told us.
Sparks nonetheless said that she is still troubled by the so-far inconsistent stories the department has offered to the public and the commission.
"The first story that came out was totally incorrect, [and] the chief could not tell us why the story changed," Sparks said. "It's criminal that these families sit there with no specific knowledge about what happened."
Sullivan's funeral was attended by his siblings — Kahlil, brother Sangh, and sisters T-sha Sullivan and Tasha Mosby-Greer — and a capacity crowd of Asa's friends and other family, all in Duggan's Funeral Home, right across from the Mission Police Station.
Born on Sept. 8, 1980, Asa grew up in San Francisco and attended Bay Area schools. Friends remembered his playful sense of humor. For a time recently, he stayed with his mom while working at Goodwill, commuting from San Jose at 5 a.m. and returning late.
"He made everybody laugh," Espinosa said. "He didn't deserve to be cornered in an attic and gunned down."
The family has contacted Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris, who told the Guardian that during his handling of hundreds of officer-misconduct cases, he’s seen families victimized by police denied documents, explanations, and the truth.
"If there's one thing I've found, it's police agencies do a disservice to the victim's family when they don't provide information," Burris said. "When the families ask questions, they don't respond." SFBG
SAN FRANCISCO Police fatally shoot man in friend's attic
Officers thought glasses case was gun and opened fire...
Asa B. Sullivan, 25, had his arms outstretched and was holding a "cylindrical object" when the officers confronted him Tuesday night in an apartment near Lake Merced, said Police Chief Heather Fong. The object turned out to be an eyeglasses case.
Police refused to release the officers' names, saying only that one was a male officer with four years' experience on the force and the other was a female officer with the department for three years.
The chief conceded that police had given a preliminary account of the shooting to reporters that turned out to have several errors.
Police originally said that Sullivan was armed and had fired through the ceiling, narrowly missing one officer, and that two other officers then opened fire into the ceiling.
A revised update was provided late Wednesday afternoon. The round that went through the floor was a ricochet fired by one of the two officers in the attic, police said.
Fong said she would not identify the officers "at this time,'' adding the officers were on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
Sullivan's mother, Kathleen Espinosa of Van Nuys (Los Angeles County), said her son had been working for Goodwill Industries in San Francisco. She said that he was not a violent person.
"It was not a justified shooting,'' she said. "There was no weapon, so it was not justified. There are so many ways to do things these days, there's no reason to do this.''
ASA had been doing bricklaying for a short time after the robbery conviction and had later told police he was a caregiver. He also had a 5-year-old son.
Asa Sullivan is SFPD murder victim number 17 over the past 10 years. Asa, like all of the 8 other young Black victim of cop murder over the past decade, was shot while unarmed.
Officers thought glasses case was gun and opened fire...
Asa B. Sullivan, 25, had his arms outstretched and was holding a "cylindrical object" when the officers confronted him Tuesday night in an apartment near Lake Merced, said Police Chief Heather Fong. The object turned out to be an eyeglasses case.
Police refused to release the officers' names, saying only that one was a male officer with four years' experience on the force and the other was a female officer with the department for three years.
The chief conceded that police had given a preliminary account of the shooting to reporters that turned out to have several errors.
Police originally said that Sullivan was armed and had fired through the ceiling, narrowly missing one officer, and that two other officers then opened fire into the ceiling.
A revised update was provided late Wednesday afternoon. The round that went through the floor was a ricochet fired by one of the two officers in the attic, police said.
Fong said she would not identify the officers "at this time,'' adding the officers were on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
Sullivan's mother, Kathleen Espinosa of Van Nuys (Los Angeles County), said her son had been working for Goodwill Industries in San Francisco. She said that he was not a violent person.
"It was not a justified shooting,'' she said. "There was no weapon, so it was not justified. There are so many ways to do things these days, there's no reason to do this.''
ASA had been doing bricklaying for a short time after the robbery conviction and had later told police he was a caregiver. He also had a 5-year-old son.
Asa Sullivan is SFPD murder victim number 17 over the past 10 years. Asa, like all of the 8 other young Black victim of cop murder over the past decade, was shot while unarmed.
Come and talk live on the air about ASA !
Friday June 30, 2006
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
This event repeats every week.
The next reminder for this event will be sent in 1 day, 17 hours, 59 minutes.
Event Location: 2941 16th Street, SF
Street: 2941 16rd Street corner of Capp, 1/2 block from SF 16th St Bart Station
City, State, Zip: SF CA 94110
Phone: (415) 595-8251 Idriss Stelley Foundation 24HR Bilingual Hotline
Notes:
SF Village Voice on Enemy Cobtant Radio, Red Stone Building at the corner of 16th and Capp, second floor, room #216. If you are late knock hard on the front door, and give me 30 seconds for one of my peeps to come and get you.
No cussing, no threats on the air so that the feds dont crack down on us and shut down the show.
Cpme and celebrate ASA's life, tell the world (webcast, we boradcast on SF but also world wide) what kind of Brother, Father, Son, Homey Asa was and send a string message to boost Justice4ASA Campaign !
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Friday June 30, 2006
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
This event repeats every week.
The next reminder for this event will be sent in 1 day, 17 hours, 59 minutes.
Event Location: 2941 16th Street, SF
Street: 2941 16rd Street corner of Capp, 1/2 block from SF 16th St Bart Station
City, State, Zip: SF CA 94110
Phone: (415) 595-8251 Idriss Stelley Foundation 24HR Bilingual Hotline
Notes:
SF Village Voice on Enemy Cobtant Radio, Red Stone Building at the corner of 16th and Capp, second floor, room #216. If you are late knock hard on the front door, and give me 30 seconds for one of my peeps to come and get you.
No cussing, no threats on the air so that the feds dont crack down on us and shut down the show.
Cpme and celebrate ASA's life, tell the world (webcast, we boradcast on SF but also world wide) what kind of Brother, Father, Son, Homey Asa was and send a string message to boost Justice4ASA Campaign !
ADVERTISEMENT
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Yes No
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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) - More than two weeks after two San Francisco police officers shot and killed an unarmed man in an apartment attic, friends and family of the victim pleaded for their questions to be answered.
A group of emotional speakers lined up tonight in front of the San Francisco Police Commission and asked for accountability in the June 6 death of 25-year-old Asa Sullivan.
"A lot of people are asking questions, especially my family," said Kahlil Sullivan, Asa's 26-year-old brother. "We have nothing."
Internal affairs, the homicide detail and the district attorney's office have all launched separate investigations into the matter, but family members have been kept in the dark despite a commission recommendation requiring a department liaison to provide updates.
The commission approved the recommendation following another fatal officer-involved shooting in August 2004. The recommendations not only require a liaison with the Police Department to work with the victim's family, but it also calls on the department to investigate a case thoroughly before releasing information to the public.
Original reports said that Sullivan had shot at police officers before he was killed.
The victim's cousin, Autumn Sullivan, 27, wondered why the reports conflicted.
"This is a tremendous loss to our family," she said. "The story has changed several times and we want to know why. Now, Asa Jr. is going to have to grow up without a father."
The speakers called upon the department to investigate and reveal the records of the two officers involved, Michelle Alvis, 28, and John Keesor, 35. Supporters also called for the timely release of the medical examiner's report and no further delay in the investigation.
"I remember thinking to myself, if my brother was shot, or my sister or my mother or anybody in my family ... you bet you, I would know the facts behind that case within 24 hours."
Commissioner Joe Veronese told Deputy Police Chief Antonio Parra. "You would expect the same thing and I think everybody on this commission would expect the same thing. Why is Mr. (Sullivan)'s family any different? Why is anybody out in the community any different?"
Parra responded by saying the department has appointed the required liaisons and he would work on a timetable for the commission. The commission, however, will not meet again until July 5, and many community leaders are calling on police to be more forthcoming.
Dawn Edwards of Bay Area Police Watch called the killing of Sullivan a "useless death of an unarmed man."
The Police Department has not released a statement since the days following the shooting but the day after, police released a detailed description of the events that happened that night.
Sgt. Neville Gittens said police were called to the Villas Parkmerced apartments around 8:50 p.m. on reports from neighbors of squatters in an uninhabited apartment.
Officers contacted security and then entered a two-floor apartment at 2 Garces Drive. Once inside, the officers encountered Sullivan and another man. Sullivan fled upstairs to the attic, Gittens said. Officers attempted to get him to come out, but he refused, saying he didn't want to go back to jail.
Alvis and Keesor, using a flashlight to see, followed Sullivan into the dark attic. The officers said that once they were inside, Sullivan took a shooting stance and clasped his hands around a "cylindrical" object.
Gittens did not say what Sullivan was holding in his hands, but investigators did not find a gun anywhere in the attic.
Police say Keesor shot first and the bullet ricocheted around the attic and nicked Alvis' ear. Then, Alvis fired. Gittens said he does not know how many rounds were fired, but Sullivan was hit and died in the attic.
The commission expects an update on the matter at the next meeting on July 5.
President Louise Renne and Police Chief Heather Fong did not attend tonight's meeting because they were at a budget meeting.
A group of emotional speakers lined up tonight in front of the San Francisco Police Commission and asked for accountability in the June 6 death of 25-year-old Asa Sullivan.
"A lot of people are asking questions, especially my family," said Kahlil Sullivan, Asa's 26-year-old brother. "We have nothing."
Internal affairs, the homicide detail and the district attorney's office have all launched separate investigations into the matter, but family members have been kept in the dark despite a commission recommendation requiring a department liaison to provide updates.
The commission approved the recommendation following another fatal officer-involved shooting in August 2004. The recommendations not only require a liaison with the Police Department to work with the victim's family, but it also calls on the department to investigate a case thoroughly before releasing information to the public.
Original reports said that Sullivan had shot at police officers before he was killed.
The victim's cousin, Autumn Sullivan, 27, wondered why the reports conflicted.
"This is a tremendous loss to our family," she said. "The story has changed several times and we want to know why. Now, Asa Jr. is going to have to grow up without a father."
The speakers called upon the department to investigate and reveal the records of the two officers involved, Michelle Alvis, 28, and John Keesor, 35. Supporters also called for the timely release of the medical examiner's report and no further delay in the investigation.
"I remember thinking to myself, if my brother was shot, or my sister or my mother or anybody in my family ... you bet you, I would know the facts behind that case within 24 hours."
Commissioner Joe Veronese told Deputy Police Chief Antonio Parra. "You would expect the same thing and I think everybody on this commission would expect the same thing. Why is Mr. (Sullivan)'s family any different? Why is anybody out in the community any different?"
Parra responded by saying the department has appointed the required liaisons and he would work on a timetable for the commission. The commission, however, will not meet again until July 5, and many community leaders are calling on police to be more forthcoming.
Dawn Edwards of Bay Area Police Watch called the killing of Sullivan a "useless death of an unarmed man."
The Police Department has not released a statement since the days following the shooting but the day after, police released a detailed description of the events that happened that night.
Sgt. Neville Gittens said police were called to the Villas Parkmerced apartments around 8:50 p.m. on reports from neighbors of squatters in an uninhabited apartment.
Officers contacted security and then entered a two-floor apartment at 2 Garces Drive. Once inside, the officers encountered Sullivan and another man. Sullivan fled upstairs to the attic, Gittens said. Officers attempted to get him to come out, but he refused, saying he didn't want to go back to jail.
Alvis and Keesor, using a flashlight to see, followed Sullivan into the dark attic. The officers said that once they were inside, Sullivan took a shooting stance and clasped his hands around a "cylindrical" object.
Gittens did not say what Sullivan was holding in his hands, but investigators did not find a gun anywhere in the attic.
Police say Keesor shot first and the bullet ricocheted around the attic and nicked Alvis' ear. Then, Alvis fired. Gittens said he does not know how many rounds were fired, but Sullivan was hit and died in the attic.
The commission expects an update on the matter at the next meeting on July 5.
President Louise Renne and Police Chief Heather Fong did not attend tonight's meeting because they were at a budget meeting.
Come and talk live on the air about ASA !
Friday June 30, 2006
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
This event repeats every week.
The next reminder for this event will be sent in 1 day, 17 hours, 59 minutes.
Event Location: 2941 16th Street, SF
Street: 2941 16rd Street corner of Capp, 1/2 block from SF 16th St Bart Station
City, State, Zip: SF CA 94110
Phone: (415) 595-8251 Idriss Stelley Foundation 24HR Bilingual Hotline
Notes:
SF Village Voice on Enemy Cobtant Radio, Red Stone Building at the corner of 16th and Capp, second floor, room #216. If you are late knock hard on the front door, and give me 30 seconds for one of my peeps to come and get you.
No cussing, no threats on the air so that the feds dont crack down on us and shut down the show.
Come and celebrate ASA's life, tell the world (webcast, we boradcast on SF but also world wide) what kind of Brother, Father, Son, Homey Asa was and send a string message to boost Justice4ASA Campaign !
Friday June 30, 2006
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
This event repeats every week.
The next reminder for this event will be sent in 1 day, 17 hours, 59 minutes.
Event Location: 2941 16th Street, SF
Street: 2941 16rd Street corner of Capp, 1/2 block from SF 16th St Bart Station
City, State, Zip: SF CA 94110
Phone: (415) 595-8251 Idriss Stelley Foundation 24HR Bilingual Hotline
Notes:
SF Village Voice on Enemy Cobtant Radio, Red Stone Building at the corner of 16th and Capp, second floor, room #216. If you are late knock hard on the front door, and give me 30 seconds for one of my peeps to come and get you.
No cussing, no threats on the air so that the feds dont crack down on us and shut down the show.
Come and celebrate ASA's life, tell the world (webcast, we boradcast on SF but also world wide) what kind of Brother, Father, Son, Homey Asa was and send a string message to boost Justice4ASA Campaign !
damn the cops are assholes - im not surprised their gonna get away with this, they always do
SAN FRANCISCO
Man killed by police pledged not to give up
Unarmed suspect said he wouldn't go back to jail, they say
Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, July 1, 2006
Printable Version
Email This Article
An unarmed trespassing suspect shot and killed last month in an attic confrontation with San Francisco police told officers that he faced an automatic six years in the "hell" of jail and had no intention of giving up, according to an affidavit that police submitted to obtain his jail psychiatric records.
Asa Sullivan, 25, was pointing what turned out to be an eyeglasses case at two officers who opened fire on him June 6 in the darkened townhouse attic in the Villas Parkmerced complex near Lake Merced.
Police had said initially that Sullivan was armed and had fired at officers, who then fired in fear for their lives.
According to a search warrant affidavit seeking Sullivan's jail medical records, Officers John Keesor, Michelle Alvis and Paulo Morgado arrived at the townhouse at 2 Garces Drive about 8:30 p.m. in response to a call about possible trespassers.
Sullivan and a friend, Jason Martin, were living in the unit with the permission of the tenant, according to the managers of the complex. The tenant was facing eviction for failing to pay rent and was moving out, they said.
Morgado arrived first and found the door ajar. The three officers soon found a bloody T-shirt hanging from a door in the townhouse and then found Martin in a second-floor bedroom, according to the affidavit by homicide Inspector Tom Cleary. Martin said in an interview that the officers handcuffed him.
Sullivan was wanted on a warrant for failing to complete a work-alternative program after being arrested last year for possession for sale of marijuana. He had also served about nine months in jail for a 1999 robbery conviction in Redwood City, authorities say.
When police arrived at the townhouse, Sullivan fled into the attic. Officers called for him to come out with his hands up, Cleary wrote in his affidavit. "I'm not going back to jail," the officers quoted Sullivan as saying.
The officers again ordered Sullivan out of the attic, but he reportedly refused, saying: "I had a (bad) attorney. He said if I did anything wrong, I'd be going back for six years straight. I'm not going back."
Martin also yelled for Sullivan to come down, the affidavit says. In an interview, Martin said he had told the officers that Sullivan did not have a gun.
The officers called for a dog unit, an officer equipped with nonlethal rounds and a hostage negotiator. Sullivan said, "I ain't going. Jail is hell," Cleary wrote.
"All of a sudden, Asa Sullivan took a deep breath and looked at Officer Keesor," Cleary said in the affidavit. "Sullivan then leaned forward with something black in his hand, and Officer Keesor heard a boom.
"Officer Keesor could not see Officer Alvis at this time and believed she had been shot," the affidavit says. "Officer Keesor and Officer Alvis then shot Asa Sullivan several times.''
Morgado, who was also in the attic, told investigators that Sullivan's statements suggested that Sullivan "had planned to commit 'suicide by cop,' " Cleary wrote.
A day after the shooting, Cleary said, police interviewed Sangh Sullivan, Asa Sullivan's 23-year-old brother, who told investigators that Sullivan had not wanted to go back to jail.
"If something happens to me, just know it was my decision," Asa Sullivan told his brother, according to the affidavit.
Sangh Sullivan also told police that two years before, his brother had attempted suicide by taking pills. He said in an interview Friday that investigators had manipulated him into making the statements to build a case that Asa Sullivan intended to commit suicide.
"They are trying to hide a murder that SFPD did -- he didn't even have a weapon," Sangh Sullivan said. "He didn't want to die. It doesn't matter what he said in his life. He wasn't suicidal; he didn't want to hurt anybody."
His mother confirmed her son had tried to commit suicide two years ago but said he had recently been committed to recovery.
"He changed," Kathleen Espinosa said. "He was on the right road; he wasn't suicidal."
She added, "My whole thing is, what are they doing going after somebody in the dark in the first place?"
SAN FRANCISCO
Man killed by police pledged not to give up
Unarmed suspect said he wouldn't go back to jail, they say
Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, July 1, 2006
Printable Version
Email This Article
An unarmed trespassing suspect shot and killed last month in an attic confrontation with San Francisco police told officers that he faced an automatic six years in the "hell" of jail and had no intention of giving up, according to an affidavit that police submitted to obtain his jail psychiatric records.
Asa Sullivan, 25, was pointing what turned out to be an eyeglasses case at two officers who opened fire on him June 6 in the darkened townhouse attic in the Villas Parkmerced complex near Lake Merced.
Police had said initially that Sullivan was armed and had fired at officers, who then fired in fear for their lives.
According to a search warrant affidavit seeking Sullivan's jail medical records, Officers John Keesor, Michelle Alvis and Paulo Morgado arrived at the townhouse at 2 Garces Drive about 8:30 p.m. in response to a call about possible trespassers.
Sullivan and a friend, Jason Martin, were living in the unit with the permission of the tenant, according to the managers of the complex. The tenant was facing eviction for failing to pay rent and was moving out, they said.
Morgado arrived first and found the door ajar. The three officers soon found a bloody T-shirt hanging from a door in the townhouse and then found Martin in a second-floor bedroom, according to the affidavit by homicide Inspector Tom Cleary. Martin said in an interview that the officers handcuffed him.
Sullivan was wanted on a warrant for failing to complete a work-alternative program after being arrested last year for possession for sale of marijuana. He had also served about nine months in jail for a 1999 robbery conviction in Redwood City, authorities say.
When police arrived at the townhouse, Sullivan fled into the attic. Officers called for him to come out with his hands up, Cleary wrote in his affidavit. "I'm not going back to jail," the officers quoted Sullivan as saying.
The officers again ordered Sullivan out of the attic, but he reportedly refused, saying: "I had a (bad) attorney. He said if I did anything wrong, I'd be going back for six years straight. I'm not going back."
Martin also yelled for Sullivan to come down, the affidavit says. In an interview, Martin said he had told the officers that Sullivan did not have a gun.
The officers called for a dog unit, an officer equipped with nonlethal rounds and a hostage negotiator. Sullivan said, "I ain't going. Jail is hell," Cleary wrote.
"All of a sudden, Asa Sullivan took a deep breath and looked at Officer Keesor," Cleary said in the affidavit. "Sullivan then leaned forward with something black in his hand, and Officer Keesor heard a boom.
"Officer Keesor could not see Officer Alvis at this time and believed she had been shot," the affidavit says. "Officer Keesor and Officer Alvis then shot Asa Sullivan several times.''
Morgado, who was also in the attic, told investigators that Sullivan's statements suggested that Sullivan "had planned to commit 'suicide by cop,' " Cleary wrote.
A day after the shooting, Cleary said, police interviewed Sangh Sullivan, Asa Sullivan's 23-year-old brother, who told investigators that Sullivan had not wanted to go back to jail.
"If something happens to me, just know it was my decision," Asa Sullivan told his brother, according to the affidavit.
Sangh Sullivan also told police that two years before, his brother had attempted suicide by taking pills. He said in an interview Friday that investigators had manipulated him into making the statements to build a case that Asa Sullivan intended to commit suicide.
"They are trying to hide a murder that SFPD did -- he didn't even have a weapon," Sangh Sullivan said. "He didn't want to die. It doesn't matter what he said in his life. He wasn't suicidal; he didn't want to hurt anybody."
His mother confirmed her son had tried to commit suicide two years ago but said he had recently been committed to recovery.
"He changed," Kathleen Espinosa said. "He was on the right road; he wasn't suicidal."
She added, "My whole thing is, what are they doing going after somebody in the dark in the first place?"