Homicide charges for former San Francisco police officer in 2017 shooting death of unarmed Black man

The former San Francisco police officer who fatally shot carjacking suspect Keita O’Neil in 2017 is now facing homicide charges, the city’s district attorney announced Monday.

Former San Francisco police officer Chris Samayoa has been charged with voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, assault by an executive officer, assault with a semi-automatic firearm and neglectful discharge of a firearm, District Attorney Chesa Boudin announced Monday, according to KPIX-TV.

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin speaks next to assistant district attorney Rachel Marshall at a news conference in San Francisco, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. A former San Francisco police officer, Chris Samayoa, who fatally shot an unarmed carjacking suspect in 2017 has been charged with manslaughter, Boudin said on Monday. (Jeff Chiu/)

“Today, my office filed homicide charges against the former officer who shot and killed Keita O’Neil, an unarmed, Black man, in 2017,” announced San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin on Twitter. “As far as we are aware, this is the first time in San Francisco history that an officer has been prosecuted for homicide.”

The charges come nearly three years to the day since, on Dec. 1, 2017, O’Neil allegedly grabbed a state lottery worker’s keys, pushed her to the ground and drove off in her white minivan, KTVU-TV reported.

Officers gave chase on a highway and pursued O’Neil into a nearby public housing complex. O’Neil jumped out of the vehicle and ran toward a patrol car, KTVU reported. Samayoa shot him in the head as he was running away, KTVU and other news outlets said, citing body cam footage.

Body cam video showed Samayoa drawing his weapon and then shooting O’Neil through the head through the car window as O’Neil ran alongside. The unarmed O’Neil died later at a local hospital.

Samayoa, a rookie cop serving his fourth day on the job, was immediately fired.

In this file image taken from video provided by KTVU-TV, San Francisco police investigate an officer-involved shooting in the city's Bayview neighborhood in San Francisco.

Police groups and advocates, including the city police union, said at the time that Samayoa was “doing what he was trained to do,” according to KTVU, and said his firing was unwarranted.

“In San Francisco there has been a long history of officer-involved shootings leading to no accountability whatsoever, further cementing the idea that police are above the law,” Boudin said at a press conference, according to KPIX. “That stops today.”