The SFPD has released the names of the two officers involved in the fatal shooting of Amilcar Perez-Lopez, identifying them as Craig Tiffe and Eric Reboli.
The shooting, which took place on the evening of February 27, happened on Folsom Street between 24th and 25th Streets around 9:45 p.m. SFPD say the plainclothes officers encountered what they say was a bike theft "in progress." Perez-Lopez was shot four times when officials say he charged officers with a knife, though many people dispute the official account of what occurred, saying Perez-Lopez was actually robbed of his phone from the person with the bike and had dropped the knife before being shot.
There is a vigil planned for Perez-Lopez tonight at 6 p.m. at the site of the shooting, along with a marchbeginning at 16th and Mission Streets at 7 p.m. The listing for the march calls to "Gather, rally, and march against the latest SPFD murder in the Mission!"
At a heated town hall meeting on Monday night, activists voiced their concerns. Both men involved in the incident spoke Spanish, but According to SF Appeal, Chief Suhr said neither officer was fluent in Spanish, which prompted many in attendance to encourage Suhr to place Spanish-speaking officers in the neighborhood. Supervisor David Campos, whose district includes the Mission, called for an independent investigation and acknowledged the feelings from his constituents. "We have a community that has a different sense of what happened."
"You have to tell your people to behave like human beings, not like soldiers," Mission resident Jorge Cal told Suhr.
Back in the neighborhood, leaders are calling for reform. "We have to work towards the common goal to change the training of the police," Julio Escobar of the Restorative Justice Program told Mission Local. Civil rights attorney Bill Simpich said, "We want community control of the police."