A homeless man who said he was beaten by police after a July, 2014 altercation in the Panhandle is back in custody today, this time for allegedly knocking a cop unconscious as he assembled a shotgun on a Lower Pacific Heights street corner.
23-year-old Joshua Boling was allegedly putting a shotgun together while standing on the sidewalk at the corner of Bush and Octavia Streets at 10:30 Sunday evening.
When a San Francisco Police Department officer approached the gun-assembling Boling, Boling grabbed the officer by the waist and slammed his head into a nearby wall, knocking him unconscious, SFPD spokesperson Officer Grace Gatpandan says.
As additional police officers "swarmed" the scene, Boling allegedly punched another officer in the face. Eventually, police were able to subdue Boling and to take him into custody, Gatpandan says.
The officer who was hit in the face suffered minor injuries but didn't require treatment, Gatpandan says. The officer who was knocked unconscious was transported to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was treated for a concussion before being released.
This isn't Boling's first brush with SFPD: last October, the San Francisco Public Defender's office issued a press release (I've uploaded it for you to read here) announcing Boling's acquittal after a July, 2014 altercation with police officers.
In that incident, Boling had been accused of "eight felonies—two counts of assault on an officer, one count of brandishing a knife on an officer, and five counts of resisting arrest."
From the PD's release:
San Francisco Police Department bicycle officers were on routine patrol in the Panhandle area of Golden Gate Park on July 11 when they spotted a familiar homeless woman sitting alongside Boling and a broken bike. The officers engaged the woman, who they knew by name, and asked her how she was doing. Boling, meanwhile, got up and walked away. One of the officers followed Boling, telling him to stop so they could talk. Boling then ran into traffic on Fell Street.The two officers pedaled across Fell Street and approached Boling on the sidewalk, where he had stopped. Officer James Tacchini drew his baton and commanded Boling to get on the ground. Claiming Boling took a “fighting stance” and believing he drew a folded pocket knife from his pocket, Tacchini then hit Boling in the knee, causing Boling to stagger. Boling then ran back into traffic on Fell Street and cut through the Department of Motor Vehicle parking lot toward Oak Street. By this time, six to 10 officers were in pursuit.
Officers tackled Boling on Oak Street near Divisadero Street, where Sgt. Joan Cronin testified that she put Boling in a carotid chokehold when he tried to stand back up. Tacchini testified that he punched Boling six times in the face with a closed fist and kicked him in the shoulder.
During the court case, "a use of force expert brought by the prosecution testified that in involuntary psychiatric hold would have been preferable to an arrest," the PD's office said.
After "less than a day" of deliberation, a jury moved to acquit Boling of all charges. He was released from jail on Monday, October 27.
On Sunday, Boling was back in San Francisco County Jail, this time on suspicion of resisting officers causing serious injury, two counts of battery on a police officer and resisting arrest, Gatpandan says. A call to the District Attorney's office to determine when Boling would return to court was not returned at publication time.