Police identify BART officer who fatally shot man near West Oakland station

A handgun was found at Seventh and Chester streets following a BART officer-involved shooting last week. A handgun was found at Seventh and Chester streets following a BART officer-involved shooting last week. Photo: Handout / Oakland Police Department Photo: Handout / Oakland Police Department Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Police identify BART officer who fatally shot man near West Oakland station 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Oakland police on Wednesday named the BART officer who fatally shot a suspect allegedly armed with a gun last week as Joseph Mateu.

The Oakland department, which is investigating the case, also released a photo of the black handgun Shaleem Tindle, 28, allegedly held before he was shot by Mateu.

Mateu was hired by BART as a community service assistant in 2003 and became a police officer in 2005, according to Alicia Trost, a spokeswoman for the transit agency. He was promoted to the rank of senior officer in January 2010.

Mateu was inside the West Oakland BART station Jan. 3 when he heard shots ring out about 4:40 p.m., Oakland police said.

The officer found two men “in a struggle with each other” at Seventh and Chester streets, across from the station. One was armed with a handgun, police said.

“After several commands were given, the officer discharged his firearm striking the man who was in possession of the handgun,” an Oakland police statement said. “He later succumbed to his injuries.”

Relatives of Tindle, an Oakland resident, mourned his death on social media, including Karim Mayfield, a boxer who has fought across the country and won the WBO NABO super lightweight title in 2011.

“My Heart Is broken, I lost my little brother Shaleem last night. Please don't ask me I'm I ok ... I'm obviously not,” he posted on Facebook.

Two witnesses to the confrontation said the man who had shot the other in the leg was then fatally struck by the BART officer’s gunfire.

The Oakland Police Department’s homicide detectives are investigating the incident. The Alameda County district attorney’s office and BART’s internal-affairs investigators are each conducting parallel probes, too. Mateu remains on paid leave.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov