BART Police Release Intense Shooting Video

54 Comments

This frame grab from a BART closed circuit television camera at the Civic Center station, shows a BART Police Officer shooting Charles Blair Hill (off camera) on Sunday, July 3, 2011.

SAN FRANCISCO – A dramatic video released Thursday shows a BART police officer drawing his gun and firing the shots that killed a knife-wielding homeless man July 3 at San Francisco’s Civic Center station.

The limited-angle video from a fixed BART security camera did not show the homeless man, Charles Hill, but it shows what officials say is his knife flying past the police officer and then bouncing off a BART train.

The flash of the officer’s gun can be seen at almost the same time as the knife whizzes by — possibly thrown by the homeless man.

Even with the limited view from the video, the only one to capture the 9:45 p.m. shooting, BART police Chief Kenton Rainey said he believes the footage is consistent with the officer’s statement that he felt threatened by Hill coming at him with a knife. The public has raised questions about the shooting and whether officers, who are equipped with Tasers, used excessive force.

Rainey said the officer fired three times after the 45-year-old Hill “raised his arm with a knife in an aggressive manner” and ignored a command to drop the weapon.

In a news conference at the agency’s headquarters in Oakland, interim BART General Manager Sherwood Wakeman said the transit district released the video in keeping with its commitment to transparency in officer-involved shooting investigations.

“It’s important to make this video available in a timely manner,” Wakeman said.

The San Francisco Police Department, he lead agency in the shooting investigation, had asked BART not to release the video until all witnesses at the station platform that night were interviewed.

With that now done, SFPD authorized the release of the 80-second video Wednesday.

BART officials said SFPD hasn’t set a timetable to conclude its investigation into the shooting, but plan to issue a progress report within 45 days.

Watch the Video >>

« Previous 1 2 Next »

Flag as inappropriate

+30

PaulGreen

almost 2 years ago

482 Comments

You never know when your life is going to change. The way I see it the Officer got off the train and probably did this hundreds of times before. Same ole call about some drunk being disorderly. This time he gets a knife thrown directly at him and had to make a decision. People are going to try to pick and tear this Officer apart and as far as I'm concerned, the action taken was the right action. Great job Officer, I'll be praying for you to fully recover for this incident. Stay strong brother.
DDemlong

almost 2 years ago

2240 Comments

Looks good to me. Who is to say he didnt potentially have more weapons.
shadow_officer

almost 2 years ago

7622 Comments

I have to ask the stupid question that everyone wants to ask or has said today. "WHO BRINGS A KNIFE TO A GUN FIGHT"? DUH!!!
Riot

almost 2 years ago

516 Comments

Who throws a knife, honestly?
Bnshape

almost 2 years ago

662 Comments

I love when video's prove that the LEO's
actions are justified.

@US Lawman1983, there are conservatives that do the exact things
that you accuse liberals of doing. I know this personally
as I work in a heavily ultra conservative jurisdiction and they
hate it when the police arrest them BUT want arrests made
if someone else does similar acts.
cos15

almost 2 years ago

26 Comments

....also if the tazer was deployed and failed to stop the suspect,goes on to injure or kill a civilian..than what...we do protect inocent and( cluecless at times) dont we, God Bless...stay safe all..see ya on the next one
cos15

almost 2 years ago

26 Comments

very simple...they have knife ,,,we use gun...case closed ..hope all is well with you brother ..good job....see ya on the streets soon.
TXMEDICGRL

almost 2 years ago

92 Comments

Good job! And the good guys went home safe :)
Madisyn77

almost 2 years ago

220 Comments

A job well done!
ToServeAndProtect

almost 2 years ago

46 Comments

This is another great example of people complaining about being safe. If you watch this here, you will find all kinds of support. But if you look at the comments on other sites, such as youtube, you will find a large group of ignorant people. This was a dangerous situation. The man was homeless, he had a knife, and he threatened at least the police, judging by the cops reaction. The police officer did the right thing, and he went home alive. That knife could have hit him and killed him, but he still put himself in harms way to neutralize the threat. Great reaction and best of luck to this officer in the future.
uncledennis1

almost 2 years ago

22252 Comments

Irishcop1961. I concur.
bstites

almost 2 years ago

1030 Comments

Seemed good to me. Glad the good guys went home safe.
Twisted_dispatcher

almost 2 years ago

2160 Comments

*BUMP * SCURGE AND COSHANE220... COULDNT HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF. GOOD SHOOT!!!!!
jennyhills

almost 2 years ago

2 Comments

I was very encouraged to find this site. I wanted to thank you for this special read. I definitely savored every little bit of it.

sell house quick
FSS

almost 2 years ago

38 Comments

US Lawman, I'm a liberal and i love police. The only other liberal i know at my school feels the same. Sorry.