DA dropping charges against SFPD Officer Kenneth Cha in shooting of Sean Moore
SAN FRANCISCO – Charges are being dropped against a San Francisco police officer accused of shooting an unarmed Black man who later died from complications resulting from his injuries.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Monday that she will move to dismiss charges against Officer Kenneth Cha, who shot Sean Moore during a confrontation with officers on January 6, 2017. Moore died in prison three years later.
"We are moving to dismiss the case against Officer Kenneth Cha as we do not believe that we can sustain our burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Cha did not act in reasonable self-defense," Jenkins said in a statement Monday.
Jenkins' predecessor, Chesa Boudin, charged Cha with manslaughter in the case in late 2021.
"We rely on officers to follow their training and to deescalate situations; instead, in just eight minutes, Officer Cha elevated a nonviolent encounter to one that took Sean Moore's life. Sean Moore was unarmed and at his own home when Officer Cha shot him twice," Boudin said in a statement at the time. "After a thorough investigation, my office is holding Officer Cha accountable for the death of Sean Moore, whom he lacked a lawful basis to even arrest."
Boudin was recalled by voters the following June.
Jenkins also noted that George Gascon, who was district attorney at the time of the incident, did not file charges against Cha.
"The people of San Francisco elected me to restore accountability and enhance public safety; to faithfully follow the facts and the law and not bow to political pressure or pursue politically expedient prosecutions that are legally or ethically dubious," Jenkins went on to say.
The case was among three brought on by Boudin against SFPD officers involved in high-profile shootings. Cases against the other two officers have since been dropped.