It was surreal news to receive late Monday: Official word from San Francsico Police Department spokesperson Sergeant Michael Andraychak that SF filmmaker Kevin Epps had been arrested in Glen Park that afternoon, on suspicion of homicide.
Like any other longstanding news org in the city, we've been covering Epps for years: Best known for his documentary Straight Outta Hunter's Point, he's been both an outspoken advocate against police violence and a fixture in the local film scene for years. I even moderated a panel with him back in 2007. And on Monday evening, Andraychak says that the now 48-year-old Epps was arrested after they were called to the scene of a shooting inside a residence on the 100 block of Addison Street in Glen Park.
Details on the slaying remain sketchy, with police saying only that at 1:24 p.m. Monday, "officers found a 46-year-old male suffering from an apparent gun shot wound" inside the home. "SFFD Paramedics responded and the victim was declared deceased on the scene," according to the SFPD. Though the SF Medical Examiner's Office has yet to publicly identify the victim, NBC Bay Area reports that the dead man was Marcus Polk Sr, one of Epps' cousins. His death, SFPD confirms, is San Francisco's 46th homicide of 2016.
Polk would routinely stay at the residence where he was killed, NBC reports. Speaking with NBC, Polk's son said that "My dad likes to poke fun at people, but I guess the guy had had enough of it."
According to CBS 5, Epps is stepfather to Polk's son. Polk Jr. tells CBS that "his father was homeless and did not live with his family, but would sometimes show up at the house unannounced, often angering his stepfather." The two had a history of animosity, CBS 5 reports, quoting Polk Jr as saying that his father "showed up out of the blue today and from what I’ve been told, he made a comment that ‘she doesn’t really like you,'”
“I think that’s what did it. And he shot a man in the back.”
Epps has been booked into SF County Jail on suspicion of homicide and for being a felon in possession of a firearm, Andraychak says. As of Tuesday morning, he remains in custody, and is being held without bail.
