California – Earlier in the month, we had reported on the officer involved shooting of 24-year-old Jamaica Hampton in San Francisco, California – describing how his mother, Tara Hampton, gathered a crowd around the San Francisco Police Department station to stage a protest against the officers who “murdered” her son.

Now, officials have released the body cam footage associated with the shooting. Despite some outrage within the community, the footage is quite telling of the altercation that happened earlier this month.

This was the first officer involved shooting in over a year’s time for the department. The body cam footage that played out showed the numerous attacks that Hampton threw at police before being shot. Be warned, the footage (seen below) contains some disturbing images.

Here’s the background on what led to the shooting:

On December 7, officers from the San Francisco Police Department responded to the area of 23rd and Mission Street after reports came in about a potential burglary as well as a separate vandalism report.

As evidenced in the video footage that was released, you can see the officer’s squad car pull over curbside; this was to address an individual who they claimed had matched the description of the suspect that was detailed in both cases they were investigating.

When the officer pulled over to the side of the road, things went metaphorically from zero to sixty in an instant.

As soon as one of the officers opened the squad car door, Hampton can be seen immediately rushing toward the officer in the passenger seat of the vehicle, before the officer could even step out of the car.

Armed with a glass bottle of vodka, Hampton began assaulting the officer with a bevy of blows with the glass bottle in hand. The relentless attack could be seen via three perspectives, with both of the officer’s body cameras as well as what appears to be omniscient security footage from overhead that showcased the initial pulling over of the vehicle.

The attack was brutal and persistent against the officers and the use of force escalated like something straight out of a department handbook.

During the brawl that played out in between the horrendous strikes being unleashed on the officer’s skull by the bottle in Hampton’s hand; officers responded with similar force, using their baton. However, Hampton, having significant leverage in the fray, was able to block the baton strikes, not to mention the officer was already likely somewhat dazed after multiple strikes to the head.

The second officer attempted to use pepper spray to subdue Hampton, which seemed to have almost zero effect on the enraged suspect.

Then, Hampton made another attempt to close the gap between officers, while still holding the glass bottle in his hand. It was at that point that officers fired their weapons, striking Hampton three times.

Subsequent photos of the officer’s injuries to his head showcase several lacerations to the back of the neck, skull, and severe bruising on the side of his face.

As of now, Hampton is still in the hospital being treated for the gun shot wounds sustained.

Of course, even after the body cam footage was released, essentially showing a by-the-book use of force, the outrage mob of course had to be disgusted that cops use their guns when attacked repeatedly with a deadly weapon.

Local activists gathered to essentially scream at police officials for the officers’ use of deadly force – despite the overwhelming evidence showing that the cops were under attack.

And it is ironic that this is the same state where residents demanded action when in September, a 13-year-old boy died from getting punched once by a fellow middle schooler.

Locals said how Hampton was a good man getting his life back together after struggling with homelessness…

Okay, great. Getting your life back on track doesn’t exactly absolve someone from attacking sworn officials with a deadly weapon.

This is a simple testament to the anti-police movement. The moment when a police officer shoots someone that fits the description of someone “who was a good person” at one point in their life, then the cops are going to be smeared no matter what.

Yet, to summarize this outrage in a funny way, one of the best online comments from the body cam footage on YouTube stated:

“You can show them a video of a person straight trying to cut someone’s throat with a machete and they be like, ‘Why did you have to shoot him, why couldn’t you just talk to him and give him hugs. Why why why?’”

At least the DA isn’t paying any mind to the rhetoric, as Hampton was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a peace officer.

Which is good… because the new DA is going to be doing police or the general public any favors.

The guy who has never prosecuted a case in his career but was elected to be the next DA of San Francisco is already turning heads, and he is still 3 weeks away from taking office.

In what was feared to usher in an era of pro-criminal mentality to the office, his first order of business does not bode well for Bay area law enforcement in keeping the streets safe.

One of Chesa Boudin’s first planned policy changes when he takes over next month seeks to answer a question that has long ignited debates in the city: Should people accused of crimes face harsher punishments if their actions allegedly benefited a street gang?

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The former public defender, who takes office Jan. 8, promises to put an end to filing what are known as gang enhancements against defendants — charges that can add years to felony sentences. Gang enhancements have drawn increased opposition in California, driven by statistics showing that they are disproportionately applied to people of color in poor neighborhoods.

Many law enforcement leaders say the charges are an important tool that allows them to hold gang members accountable for the fear they create in communities when they protect turf, intimidate witnesses, recruit new associates and commit violent crimes.

But critics say gang enhancements yield arbitrary and excessive sentences, sending black and brown people to jail and prison at higher rates than white people who commit the same crimes, like assault or robbery.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, state prison records show that of 11,484 inmates who were serving sentences with a gang enhancement as of Aug. 31, 68% were Hispanic and 24% were black. Just 3% were white.

“I want to focus on holding people accountable for what they’ve done — not who they are,” Boudin told The Chronicle. “People are seeing their families impacted by overzealous uses of these gang allegations.”

Boudin said gang enhancements are “infused with racism.” The punishments, he said, increase tensions between minority communities and law enforcement, ultimately making the city less safe.

“There are violent crimes that are going unsolved,” he said, “and we need cooperation from these communities where these crimes are being committed.”

According to government statistics, Hispanics make off 44% of gangs in the US. African Americans make up 40%. Whites comprise 14%.

Breaking that down further to the state level is difficult because there are no current figures for gang membership by demographics by state. One statistic shows 58% of gang members on the West Coast are Hispanic.

Proponents of gang enhancements, however, said the charges have been a valuable tool in protecting residents of neighborhoods plagued by organized criminals. They argue that going after gangs and the power they wield have prompted steep declines in homicides in San Francisco and around the state over the past decade.

Victims of gang crimes, proponents said, are also disproportionately people of color.

“Getting rid of the gang enhancement assumes that there’s no gang problem,” said Eric Siddall, a Los Angeles County gang prosecutor and vice president of the Association of Los Angeles Deputy District Attorneys. “The law was created for a very specific purpose with a very specific target and for very specific violence.”

To be convicted of a gang enhancement, a defendant must participate in a “criminal street gang” while knowing its members have committed “a pattern of criminal gang activity,” and while promoting or assisting in that activity. The sentencing enhancement can add two, three or four years to an underlying felony. If the felony is defined as serious or violent, the defendant can face an additional five or 10 years, respectively.

Boudin’s planned policy change is the latest flash point over whether San Francisco gang crackdowns are effective and equitable.

More than a decade ago, the city began obtaining civil court injunctions against gangs that barred alleged members from engaging in certain activities in neighborhood “safety zones,” under threat of arrest. Those named in the injunctions could not associate with each other in public, wear certain colors or seek to recruit new members, for example.

City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who filed those lawsuits, said they worked to cut crime. But opponents said the injunctions created a new set of potential crimes for a specific group of people, all of whom were African American or Latino. The city recently scaled back the program after criticism that it violated the defendants’ civil rights.

The law allowing gang enhancements came decades earlier. California’s Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act of 1988, known as the STEP Act, was designed to go after street gangs during an era of high violent crime in California.

At its zenith, California had more than 4,000 homicides in 1993. That number has steadily fallen, and just over 1,700 killings occurred last year, according to the state Department of Justice. Experts debate the reason for the drop, but many credit interventions by police and anti-violence groups in stemming retribution killings between gangs.

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