OAKLAND — Authorities said a man fatally shot Thursday by an Oakland police sergeant was reaching for a gun, but the shooting has ignited a community outcry after witnesses said they never saw a gun and the officer overreacted. Investigators said a loaded revolver was found in the waistband of the man's pants.
The man, identified on Friday as Gary W. King, 20, was shot twice in the back after authorities said he broke away from Sgt. Pat Gonzales during a struggle and appeared to twist and reach for the weapon.
One witness, Ailene Romero, said she never saw a gun, and Gonzales shot King as he was running away.
"There were a lot of young people there, and people just started screaming," Romero said.
The shooting happened about 4:45 p.m. Thursday in the 5300 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
Police said Gonzales had been trying to speak with King because King matched the description of a man suspected in the Aug. 21 shooting death of Ronald Spears, 29, of Pittsburg.
In that crime, Spears was with two women and had stopped at a gas station at 55th and Market streets to get directions to a friend's house. Police said a man said he would show them the way and asked for a ride. But once inside the car, the man pulled a gun and demanded cash from Spears. Spears scuffled with the man, and the car crashed on 55th Street. Spears was shot outside the car by the man who fled.
Sgt. Phil Green said police had a very good description of the gunman from witnesses, and officers in the area were asked to question men who matched the description. Lt. Ersie Joyner III said Gonzales made what is considered "an investigative stop" on King after he saw King exit a nearby store. King "was cooperative at first," Joyner said, and it was a "low-key situation." The situation escalated, however, and a struggle ensued.
Joyner said Gonzales twice tried to use his Taser to subdue King, but apparently the Taser malfunctioned and had no effect on King.
Joyner said King refused repeated commands by Gonzales to surrender.
Gonzales told investigators King started to reach down toward his waistband. Gonzales tried to stop the movement and felt the gun, Joyner said.
Gonzales stepped back and drew his pistol, still trying to get King to surrender, Joyner said.
Gonzales told investigators he fired twice at King when he continued to try and pull the gun out while turning to get away from him.
King was taken to Highland Hospital where he later died.
It was the second time Gonzales, a nine-year veteran has been involved in a fatal shooting. In March 2002, he and another officer shot and killed a shotgun-wielding man after they saw him rob another man in the parking lot of an East Oakland fast-food restaurant.
Thursday's shooting shocked witnesses, and a group of community members gathered Friday at the scene. A memorial dedicated to King was growing on the median strip across from a liquor store near where the shooting occurred.
"He laid there and died right in front of us," said Shamar Bell, who said he witnessed the shooting and said he had known King since grade school. He said he did not see the officer pat King down before detaining him.
"(Gonzales) put handcuffs on him while he was on his stomach (in the street) in front of us," Bell said. "If he so feared for his life, why didn't he call for backup?"
At one point during the struggle, witnesses said, Gonzales held King by his braids as he tried to break free and escape.
Anela Hobbs said she saw Gonzales use his Taser several times on King and saw King reach deep into his low-slung pants. Gonzales then let go of his braids, she said. King had turned to run away when the officer shot twice at him.
"I don't know protocol. I don't know policy. I just know life," Hobbs said. "It was a lose-lose situation all around."
Romero said seeing King handcuffed after being shot was distressing. She questioned why the police would not aim for King's leg instead of shooting him fatally.
Both practices are Oakland police policy in such cases.
By late Friday morning, candles and King's T-shirt had been placed on the memorial to King. Friends and people who knew him shared their concerns about the shooting throughout the day.
"He was a good kid and was straightening out his life," said one of King's friends, who was with King when the incident began and saw the shooting.
Semir Jehar, who was working at a shoe and clothing store that day on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, ran outside when he heard the commotion.
When outside, Jehar said he saw King cooperating, but when Gonzales tried to subdue King, he resisted and tried to get out of Gonzales's hold.
"I thought the police officer maybe shot him with rubber bullets," Jehar said. "The police officer shouldn't have resorted to his gun."
Investigators are still trying to determine if King had a role in the Spears' killing.
King's death is being investigated by the police homicide section, Internal Affairs Division and the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, which sent representatives to the scene Thursday.
It was the third time this year Oakland police have fatally shot someone.
