Not good day for police. Witness says Alex Nieto had hands in jacket pockets when police fired. Story at 6. #ABC7Now pic.twitter.com/Edyt4YGBiM
— Dan Noyes (@dannoyes) March 4, 2016
As was first reported in January, and standing in contrast to the official police version of events, a witness who claims to have seen officers shoot and kill Alex Nieto in 2014 testified yesterday that Nieto had his hands in his pockets when police opened fire. Four SFPD officers fired a total of 59 bullets at Nieto, and have stated that they did so because the security guard pointed a Taser at them which they mistook for a gun.
Antonio Theodore, reports the Chronicle, was jogging with his dog in Bernal Heights Park around 6:30 p.m. on March 21, 2014, when he noticed two approaching police cars. He estimated that he was about 115 feet away from what would become the shooting site, and testified yesterday that he could clearly see Nieto walking in a “very calm and casual way” toward the officers.
"One officer yelled ‘stop’ — the officer on the driver’s side,” the paper reports him as saying. “After the ‘stop,’ he fired the first shot at the man in the red jacket. He then fired another shot. Then a third shot. Then the person fell on their knees, and after a second he got a fourth shot and fell on his face."
Nieto's hands were in his pockets the entire time, testified Theodore. Deputy City Attorney Margaret Baumgartner did not get a chance to cross-examine Theodore Thursday, but she said in opening statements that his testimony was not credible because he was too far away.
The officers were called to the park by another man, Justin Fritz, who walking his dog and who also testified Thursday. Fritz said that his partner had observed what looked to be a gun on Nieto's lap and insisted that he dial 911.
Officer Richard Schiff and Lt. Jason Sawyer, who have already testified in the civil suit brought against SFPD by Nieto's parents, and who combined fired 43 of the 59 shots, previously testified that Nieto drew his taser — and that a red laser emitting from the taser helped to convince them he was armed.
Again, however, Theodore yesterday contradicted those claims. The Examiner reports that Nieto's family's lawyer, Adante Pointer, asked Theodore about the supposedly drawn weapon and the laser. He denied seeing either. Theodore is scheduled to be questioned by the defense Friday.
