San Francisco DA Charges cop with manslaughter. Victim Died 3 Years Later

Lee Heidhues 11.2.2021

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin is standing by his vow to hold those accountable who break the law.

DA Boudin’s indictment of San Francisco police officer Kenneth Cha for the manslaughter of Sean Moore is an affirmation that he stands by his principles of equal justice under the law. Regardless of job title and the type of uniform the perpetrator wears.

Chesa Boudin is a beacon of justice in a repressive United States of America.

Excerpted from New York Times 11.2.2021

A San Francisco police officer was charged with voluntary manslaughter for shooting an unarmed man who died three years after being wounded at his home in 2017, the San Francisco district attorney’s office announced on Tuesday.

The officer, Kenneth Cha, was charged for shooting Sean Moore after he and his partner, Officer Colin Patino, responded to a call that Mr. Moore was violating a restraining order early on Jan. 6, 2017, according to the district attorney’s office. Mr. Moore died on Jan. 20, 2020, of what the coroner’s report said was “acute intestinal obstruction” because of bullet wounds to his abdomen from the shooting.

In the statement, District Attorney Chesa Boudin said Officer Cha “lacked a lawful basis to even arrest” Mr. Moore and that he was unarmed at his home when he was shot by Officer Cha.

“When officers inflict unwarranted violence in flagrant disregard of their training, it denigrates the hard work of other police officers and shatters the trust our community places in law enforcement,” Mr. Boudin said. “Rebuilding that trust requires us to hold those officers who inflict unlawful violence accountable.”

The charges against Officer Cha include voluntary manslaughter, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, enhancements for personal use of a firearm and infliction of great bodily injury, the San Francisco district attorney’s office said in a statement on Tuesday. It is only the second time an on-duty law enforcement officer has been prosecuted for a homicide in San Francisco, the office said. Officer Patino was not charged.

The statement said that Mr. Moore’s mother, Cleo Moore, said she was “very happy” to learn of the charges against Officer Cha.

The San Francisco Police Officers Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. It was unclear on Tuesday night if Officer Cha had a lawyer.