No sign of weapon on woman shot to death by SF police sergeant

A police officer lifts up police tape to allow a squad car into the scene of an officer involved shooting on Elmira Street that ended in the death of the woman who was shot May 19, 2016 in San Francisco, Calif. Police officers began pursuing a car that came up as stolen in their system and after the woman crashed the car into a parked vehicle, she was shot once while officers tried to remove her from the car and she died from the gunshot wound. less A police officer lifts up police tape to allow a squad car into the scene of an officer involved shooting on Elmira Street that ended in the death of the woman who was shot May 19, 2016 in San Francisco, ... more Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close No sign of weapon on woman shot to death by SF police sergeant 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

A San Francisco police sergeant shot and killed a 27-year-old woman in a suspected stolen car Thursday on the edge of the Bayview neighborhood, starting a chain of events that ended with Police Chief Greg Suhr’s resignation later in the day.

Police said there was no immediate indication that the woman was armed or had been driving the car toward officers when she was shot.

The Bayview station sergeant and another officer, working a special enforcement project that aims to recover stolen vehicles, tried to arrest the woman after spotting the car about 9:45 a.m. at Elmira Street near Interstate 280, Suhr told reporters at the scene. She drove away before the officers could talk to her, but got only 100 feet before crashing into a parked utility truck, witnesses told police.

The sedan became wedged beneath the truck. The woman was trying to dislodge it and was not complying with police orders, Suhr said, and the sergeant fired one shot, striking her.

Police removed the woman from the car and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation before paramedics arrived, Suhr said. She was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where she died.

No weapon was found on the woman, said police, who added that they planned to search the car. The woman’s name and the names of the officers had not been released by Thursday evening.

Hours after the shooting, Suhr tendered his resignation at the request of Mayor Ed Lee, who cited “tensions between law enforcement and communities of color that have simmered for too many years.” The woman who was shot Thursday was black.

“The community is grieving, and I join them in that grief,” Lee said in a news conference.

It was the third fatal shooting of a suspect by San Francisco police within the past six months. Previous shootings, particularly the Dec. 2 killing of 26-year-old stabbing suspect Mario Woods in the Bayview, have prompted critics to accuse police of being too quick to use their guns, especially against suspects who are minorities.

Until Thursday, Lee had been fending off calls from critics of Suhr that the chief be replaced. In the wake of the Woods killing and the fatal police shooting in April of Luis Gongora, a 45-year-old homeless man in the Mission District who allegedly was holding a knife, Suhr and Lee said the city would spend $17.5 million on police reforms that would emphasize de-escalation techniques and officer training.

“This is exactly the kind of thing, with ongoing reforms, that we are trying to avoid,” Suhr said Thursday before he tendered his resignation.

San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi called the shooting disturbing and unacceptable.

“She was entitled to due process and, above all, she was entitled to her life,” Adachi said in a statement. “Police reforms and policy changes are meaningless if they aren’t accompanied by a major shift in police culture, away from shooting first and asking questions later.”

New policies

Police Commission President Suzy Loftus said Thursday’s shooting was the kind of situation that the panel is working to prevent, as commissioners debate a new use-of-force policy for the Police Department.

It was unclear if the car in Thursday’s incident was moving when the woman was shot. Firing at moving vehicles is highly discouraged in law enforcement because even if the officer hits the driver, the car may not stop. That poses a serious risk to the officer and anyone else in the area.

The Police Department’s current policy prohibits officers from firing at a moving vehicle except when an occupant is threatening the officer with “imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury,” and the officer has no way to retreat.

Draft reform policy

Loftus said the revised policy in front of the commission would put a strict prohibition on shooting at moving vehicles, unless an occupant is threatening “imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury” by means other than the vehicle — meaning the car itself cannot be considered a dangerous weapon. The draft policy is modeled on one from the New York Police Department.

Kevin Schultz, Vivian Ho, Kevin Schultz and Kimberly Veklerov are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kschultz@sfchronicle, vho@sfchronicle.com and kveklerov@sfchronicle.com