The family of a man who was shot and killed by a San Francisco police officer in 2017 is pleading with California Attorney General Rob Bonta to take over the case.
The family said they need answer now because the city's district attorney is expected to dismiss the case against the officer on Tuesday.
"Rob Bonta better damn well prosecute this murder because if he doesn't prosecute, he's complicit in covering this up," said Steve Zeltzer with the United Front Committee for a Labor Party.
Zeltzer one of about 50 people who rallied Monday at the steps of California State Offices in San Francisco with hopes of focusing attention on the case against former San Francisco Police Department Officer Christopher Samayoa.
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The former officer is currently facing manslaughter charges in the on-duty shooting death of Keita O'Neil.
In December 2017, police had been chasing a carjacked lottery van. Security camera video shows O'Neil open the driver side door and jumping out just before the van stops. Police body camera video shows Samayoa shoot O'Neil from inside a police cruiser as O'Neil runs by him.
The San Francisco district attorney at the time, George Gascon, chose not to prosecute the former officer. But When Chesa Boudin came to office, he decided 10 months into his term to file charges against the officer, but did not bring the case to trial before he was recalled.
Current District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has already filed a motion to dismiss the case, saying the filing was a political move by Boudin.
A hearing on Tuesday will decide what happens next.
O'Neil's aunt, April Green, was at the rally on Monday and has been pushing for the attorney general to take the case, in part because she has not been satisfied with how Jenkins has been handling it.
Jenkins had agreed to ask the attorney general to look at it before filing a motion to dismiss the case, but got no response. That is why now Green and her lawyer announced a meeting with Bonta.
"I'm hoping he will take it," Green said. "Or at least the minimum - ask the judge for more time ... He was very reassuring that he would look at this fairly and review everything, and that he doesn’t have an issue going against police."
If Bonta decides not to take the case, a judge's order will expire Tuesday and the case will be dismissed.
According to Jenkins, the statue of limitations on the charges filed will also run out in a little more than a week.
“It’s a travesty of justice. It’s manipulation of the system. And frankly, it’s based on a number of factual misrepresentations. It’s an avocation of her role as a prosecutor," said Brian Ford, O'Neail family attorney.
