SFPD Holds Town Hall Meeting Over Officer-Involved Fatal Shooting of Suspected Reckless Driver

Members of the public called for the resignation of San Francisco police Chief Greg Suhr Monday evening during a town hall meeting he hosted to discuss an officer-involved shooting, which ended with the death of 24-year-old Alice Brown.

Police said Brown was fatally shot by officers after she allegedly went on a driving rampage last Tuesday.

Members of the community who attended the meeting held banners commemorating the lives of those who have died in officer-involved shootings.

A number of people said Suhr can't handle the job and should retire or resign.

Suhr asked the public to keep the conversation and all questions on the subject of last Tuesday's fatal shooting. He said the two plainclothes officers who shot and killed Brown
were Sgt. Thomas McGuire and Officer Michael Tursi.

Brown was killed near the intersection of Van Ness Avenue and Pine Street while allegedly trying to escape pursuing officers.

According to police, two plainclothes officers responded at 7:07 p.m. Tuesday to the intersection to investigate a possible stolen vehicle.

Upon arrival, officers located the suspect vehicle, a blue four-door sedan, at a Chevron gas station.

The officers approached the vehicle on foot and identified themselves to the driver, according to police.

Brown put the car in gear and drove toward the officers, then tried to drive away from the gas station, hit the building and turned onto Pine Street, where she turned around and started driving the wrong way down the street, police said.

Officers chased after the car on foot but Brown drove onto a sidewalk, then drove toward the officers for a second time and hit another building and several parked vehicles, police said.

Brown again entered the roadway going the wrong way, hit more vehicles and forced a motorcyclist to abandon his vehicle in the roadway to avoid being hit, police said.

Police said Brown drove back onto the sidewalk and the officers then fired at least two shots at the car from their department-issued firearms.

The car ended up on the sidewalk of Pine Street about 50 feet west of Van Ness Avenue. The officers gave aid to Brown, but she died at the scene, police said.

Police said the officers fired at the woman because she was endangering the lives of the officers and nearby pedestrians. They have not yet said whether drugs or alcohol were factors in the case.

Some witnesses question the department's account of the incident.

Michelle Herzberg-Moran never saw police, but said it was horrifying to see a car moving erratically with so many people around.

"They were terrifying," she said. "You don't expect someone to be out of control in a car. It seemed like this person was deliberately hitting people."

Brown's brother and his family watched the emotional meeting unfold, but made no comment.

The incident remains under investigation by the Police Department's homicide detail and its internal affairs division, as well as the San Francisco District Attorney's Office and the Office of Citizen Complaints.

The community meeting was held at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in San Francisco.

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