Man killed in police shooting identified by Medical Examiner
By BY Michael Barba • October 16, 2015 12:00 am
A San Francisco Medical Examiner's employee arives shortly after a San Francisco police sergeant shot and killed a male suspect who allegedly tried to grab a gun from another officer near 8th and Market streets Thursday, October 15, 2015. (Mike Koozmin/S.F. Examiner)
The man shot and killed by San Francisco police Thursday afternoon near Civic Center has been identified by the Medical Examiner's Office as 27-year-old Herbert Benitez.
Benitez, of San Francisco, was allegedly throwing glass bottles near a construction site on the southeast corner of Eighth and Market streets just after 12 p.m., police said. A construction worker flagged down a passing patrol car.
When the two veteran sergeants confronted Benitez, a scuffle ensued and the suspect reportedly grabbed a gun belonging to one of them.
Police Chief Greg Suhr told reporters the sergeant shouted "'he's getting my gun, he's got my gun, shoot him.'"
Benitez was then shot twice in the torso, which killed him. The Medical Examiner's Office determined the manner of his death to be homicide.
Benitez's family has been notified and his full autopsy report is pending at this time, the Medical Examiner's Office said.
The names of the police sergeants involved have not been released.
A San Francisco Medical Examiner's employee wheeled a body to their van after a San Francisco police sergeant shot and killed a male suspect who allegedly tried to grab a gun from another officer near 8th and Market streets Thursday, October 15, 2015. (Mike Koozmin/S.F. Examiner)
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Tags: Crime, Crime Ink, Herbert Benitez, officer-involved shooting, Police shooting, San Francisco Crime
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