The medical examiner has identified the woman shot and killed by an SFPD sergeant Thursday morning as 29-year-old Jessica Williams. According to KRON 4, two officers who have yet to be named publicly were patrolling the Bayview looking for stolen cars when they spotted one parked on Elmira Street near Helena Street and the 280 overpass. When they approached the vehicle, Williams allegedly gave chase, but only made it 100 feet or so when she crashed into a parked truck at the dead end of Elmira.
The white sedan Williams was driving became wedged beneath the truck, police said. Williams was trying to dislodge the vehicle, by shifting it forward and in reverse, and was not complying with police orders, Suhr said, when the sergeant fired one shot, striking her.
Via KRON 4, and an earlier statement by former chief Suhr, we hear something slightly different, which is, "The officers tried to pull the woman out, and at some point a sergeant fired one shot." So far there has been no mention of Williams being armed, only that she was trying to flee officers.
Almost immediately, a rumor began that Williams may have been pregnant, but that has yet to be confirmed or denied. No further details have been given about Williams, except that she was "from the Bay Area," per the Chronicle.
The New York Times published a piece Saturday discussing how the ousting of Chief Suhr was not unique around the country, and that chiefs of police in Chicago and Baltimore were similarly removed following public furor over use of force. Also, they note, regarding shootings like the one that killed Williams, "In an earlier time, when crime was more rampant and video cameras were rare, before the birth of Black Lives Matter and the social media that fueled it, such shootings rarely cost anyone a job."
Meanwhile, a makeshift memorial that took shape Thursday evening on Elmira Street, following a vigil and rally for Williams, as ABC 7 shows us in the video above.
Update: The Chronicle finds a couple of friends of Williams who are living on the streets. One described her as "mellow" and says that she helped thwart a rape attempt of another woman living in a tent in a homeless camp. It's unclear if Williams herself was homeless.
Previously: Unarmed Female Suspect Fatally Shot By SFPD In Bayview
