As District Attorney George Gascon prepares to potentially file criminal charges against the five SFPD officers involved in the shooting of Mario Woods, he's assured protesters that the investigation into the incident will not take as long as many such investigations take, largely because of all the video evidence. As the Examiner reports, Gascon spoke to protesters who gathered outside his office Friday, following Woods' funeral on Thursday. Gascon said of all the video taken by onlookers from different angles, "This is the first time for me, which makes our work easier in a way
We do have a significant part of the story right there in front of us."
He said that while some similar investigations have taken nine months to a year, this one will move much quicker. How quick, though, remains to be seen.
He did quell concerns that SFPD Chief Greg Suhr and others keep trying to shift the discussion to the department's need for Tasers just days after the shooting, Suhr began insisting that the incident could have "ended differently" if officers were all equipped with Tasers.
"I think it’s simplistic to bring the Taser now as an answer to what occurred here," Gascon said to protesters. "This shooting is not about a conversation about Tasers, and I think some people are trying to make it look like we are getting Tasers and the problem is solved."
As we learned previously, the five officers who allegedly shot at and killed Woods were Winson Seto, Antonio Santos, Charles August, Nicholas Cuevas, and Scott Phillips.
As a separate piece in the Examiner points out, Woods' family can not receive compensation from the state for funeral expenses unless the DA files charges against the officers in his death. They were, however, able to raise $17,000 for burial expenses via a crowdfunding campaign.
The last time the SF DA's office had to tackle a high-profile case like this involving charges against police officers it was Fajitagate a notorious 2002 case in which three off-duty SFPD officers, including the son of then assistant chief Alex Fagan, got into a street brawl one night with two men over a bag of takeout fajitas. Officers Alex Fagan Jr., David Lee, and Matt Tonsing were all ultimately exonerated in the case, which went on for several years and included charges against others in the department for obstruction of justice, but a 2006 civil trial found both Fagan and Tonsing liable for damages.