DA's Office: Man Shot Dead By Daly City Police Was Wielding Fake Gun
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office is investigating a fatal shooting last week involving Daly City police officers who were struggling with suspect brandishing a replica firearm, DA Stephen Wagstaffe announced Tuesday.
The man killed in the shooting was identified as 44-year-old Roger Cornelius Allen, a San Francisco resident. The DA's office said Allen was sitting in the front passenger seat of a parked truck with a damaged rear tire when a Daly City police officer arrived on the scene. Along with Allen, there was a male in the driver's seat and a female in the back seat
The officer spoke with the driver about needing help with the tire and a second officer arrived, the DA's office said. The driver was cooperative and got out of the truck to discuss the vehicle problem.
Two additional officers arrived and stood on the passenger side of truck where the front passenger door was open, where they saw what appeared to be a Glock pistol on Allen's lap. Officers yelled out that there was a gun and after Allen picked the gun up and held it in his hand one of the officers leaned into the truck and grabbed Allen's hand, according to the DA's office.
During the struggle, the barrel of the weapon was pointed toward an officer on the driver side of the vehicle and that officer was hit in the forehead by an unidentified small object causing a minor abrasion, the DA's office said. As the struggle continued, the gun barrel swung back and was pointed toward the face of the officer grappling with Allen, prompting the second officer on the passenger side to fire his weapon at Allen twice, the DA's office said.
One shot hit Allen in the chest and the other shot missed and was lodged inside the vehicle. Allen was taken to San Francisco General Hospital where died of his injuries about 90 minutes later.
The handgun turned out to be a replica stamped with the word Glock, and did not have an orange barrel tip to indicate it was not a real firearm.
No officer body camera video is available because Daly City police officers are not equipped with body cameras. The driver of the truck and the passenger were both cooperative and provided statements to police about the incident, the DA's office said.
Anyone with information about the incident was asked to call Chief Inspector William Massey at the District Attorney's Office (650) 363-4883.
