SFPD fatal shooting town hall: body-worn camera only captures part of incident

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - Less than a week after a deadly officer-involved shooting at Stern Grove Park in San Francisco, police held a town-hall meeting to talk to concerned citizens about what happened.

At the Scottish Rite Masonic Center, about 75 people came to learn more about the incident where a police officer was seriously injured by a mentally disturbed man.

The audience got a first look of a photo of the .22 caliber handgun Nicholas McWherter used to shoot at police.

"This firearm had two empty cases and one live round in the cylinder," says Police Commander Greg McEachern.

Police say McWherter opened fired at Officer Downs and his partner as they exited their patrol vehicle.
　
"McWherter immediately fired several shots at the vehicle striking Downs in the head. There was no indication of any conversation," said Commander McEachern.

After McWherter escaped into Stern Grove Park, police cornered him.

There was an exchange of gunfire. McWherter died two days later in the hospital.

Police say Officer Downs was wearing a body camera that captured a part of the incident when he was shot.
But police say there is no video of the police shooting McWherter.

"The officers were not wearing body worn cameras," says Commander McEachern.

People at the meeting expressed concern for Officer Downs.
　
"Over the years, I've known a lot of officers. We're on the advisory board for the Taraval Police Station so when we heard that, we were really sad," says Al Harris who attended the meeting with his wife.

Interim Police Chief Toney Chaplin read a statement from Officer Down's family,

"The shot fractured Kevin's skull and missed a main artery by less than a centimeter. The fracture caused trauma to his brain. It's left him paralyzed in the right leg. He's regained some use of his right arm."

Chief Chaplin tells me he has unofficially launched a partnership with mental health experts to respond to calls involving mentally ill individuals, but says this officer involved shooting evolved too quickly...where officers could not buy time.

"If we can elongate these situations and get professionals to the scene, generally they end better. But if they unfold like this and the person is determined and they're actively shooting, there's not much you can do," says Chief Chaplin.

As for Officer Downs, Chaplin says the officer will be starting physical therapy as part of his recovery and that his family plans to release another statement soon.