S.F. boxer’s biggest fight — for justice
He wants officer prosecuted in brother’s death
Karim Mayfield has a lot on his mind these days. San Francisco’s homegrown welterweight has a big fight coming up on Saturday. Not only is he boxing, but he’s also promoting the six-bout card. And it’s all happening on Nob Hill, in the first-ever fight night at the Fairmont Hotel.
The 37-year-old boxer, one of the best this city has ever produced, also has four kids at home with his high school sweetheart turned wife of 12 years. In his spare time, he helps train young fighters at the 3rd Street Boxing Gym in Dogpatch.
But, even with all that going on, Mayfield’s mind is occupied with something else. Something terrible. His younger brother Sahleem Tindle was shot and killed by a BART police officer in Oakland back on Jan. 3.
“I’m trying to get justice for my little brother,” said Mayfield, who believes the shooting was unjustified. “We’re trying to get the D.A. to prosecute.
“My brother was with his two kids and his future
wife, with bags ... grocery bags ... he was a personal trainer by day, a father by night. Just 28 years old, and his life taken so suddenly. He came up in the Fillmore with us . ... He was always with his family.”
The circumstances surrounding Tindle’s death are all too familiar in this day and age. There was an altercation across the street from West Oakland BART Station around 4:30 p.m. that day, and one of the participants was Tindle. A gun was produced and a shot was fired, injuring the other man involved. BART police officer Joseph Mateu rushed to the scene and saw two men grappling on the floor. “Let me see your hands,” the officer shouted, before shooting Tindle three times in the back.
Tindle died later at the hospital. Mateu was placed on administrative leave for two weeks before returning to work. He remains under investigation for the shooting. But that didn’t stop the BART Police Department from promoting Mateu into a training position earlier this week, a somewhat shocking development that was delayed after a Chronicle inquiry.
(In response to that, Mayfield said his family was shocked by the story and the proposed promotion of an officer under investigation.)
BART police declined to comment for this story, referring The Chronicle to a statement that BART Police Chief Carlos Rojas issued in February, as well as a news conference he held after the incident.
A legal claim against BART has been filed by Tindle’s extended family, and they are expected to expand that into a full-fledged lawsuit.
It’s all playing out for Mayfield and his relatives as the country wrestles with conflict and rage surrounding police shootings. Up in Sacramento, protests flared all week surrounding the recent shooting of Stephon Clark. Professional athletes have protested police brutality across the nation. From Florida to Ferguson and beyond, the Black Lives Matter movement has tried to shed light and enact change, while defenders of the police point to the dangers faced on the job.
The fact is that police across the country shoot and kill approximately 1,000 citizens every year, according to a database curated by the Washington Post. So far, in 2018, the number stands at 264, which is right on pace to hit 1,000 by the end of the year. Those shot range, in age and race, across the spectrum. Some may deserve it. Some don’t. But it’s the shooting of young, black men that has become a polarizing, politicized issue that grips this deeply divided nation.
“I had been involved in posting things” on social media about police shootings, Mayfield said. “But it wasn’t close to home. Now it’s home.
“It just has to stop. There need to be some other kinds of protocols. I looked at a lot of statistics. The people who are killing cops, they aren’t young black males. Why are they so afraid of black males? Why are they killing young black males?”
In Tindle’s case, Mayfield thinks his little brother was approached by a man with a gun. Mayfield thinks Tindle, a martial artist, grabbed the gun in a quick move that resulted in shots fired, hitting the assailant. After that, the gun was on the ground and the two men were fighting on the sidewalk. That’s when the BART police officer arrived.
“Once we heard ... we just didn’t know what happened,” said Mayfield. “We knew my brother was with his fiancee and his two children. I know my brother wasn’t known for carrying any guns. But we were thinking my brother did try to defend himself. Maybe he took the gun and the officer came? We weren’t thinking of protesting. I mean, what is the officer supposed to do? And then it took a month for us to see the body cam (video footage). That told a totally different story.”
As in many other cases across the country, the body camera worn by Officer Mateu provides an accurate (and graphic) record of the shooting. Tindle was on the ground with his back to the officer when he was shot three times in the back.
“There was a gun on the scene, but no one had a gun in their hand. The officer didn’t identify himself. He literally shot my brother in the back,” said Mayfield, offering his opinion of what transpired. “After seeing that … someone taking his life like that. They didn’t give him a chance to comply.”
(During his press conference on the shooting and Officer Mateu, BART Police Chief Rojas said: “He hears a couple gunshots. As everyone is running into the station in a frenzy, he’s running toward the gunfire. What I call that is courage.”)
With all this going on, one can see why a boxing match, or a new promotion company or even his own family could fade into the background. But Mayfield hasn’t let his personal life suffer, even as he copes with the sad fate of his brother, who shared the same mother but had a different father.
Saturday’s fights at the Fairmont will provide a muchneeded diversion from the emotional pain he feels every day. By the looks of things, Mayfield (20-4-1 with 11 knockouts) still has something left in the tank.
A former North American Boxing Organization super lightweight champ, he had lost four of five fights before beating previously undefeated Miguel Dumas at the Armory last fall.
“You have somebody that has that much belief in himself, you can’t tell him he’s getting old,” said Mayfield’s longtime trainer, Ben Bautista. “Boxers, nowadays, have more longevity, with the supplements, technology and science.”
But it’s the promotional side — under his company, Hard Hitta Promotions — that represents the future. The “Battle in the Ballroom” will be the company’s second event.
“Boxing is a very shady business,” said Bautista. “If you’re not signed with a promoter, it’s hard to get fights. You might as well promote the fights yourself. That’s what Floyd (Mayweather) does.”
And that’s what Karim (Mayfield) is doing. While fighting for justice. While helping young athletes.
“Boxing gyms, nowadays, are more catered to the techies getting in shape, rather than competition,” said Mayfield, from the 3rd Street Gym. “But we have a youth program here, teaching the kids how to defend themselves and showing them how to box for the most part.
“I was born and raised in the Fillmore. Grew up with London Breed,” said Mayfield. “Now I’m helping some of those same kids. Not only am I teaching boxing, I’m teaching them how to be a champion in life, overall. It’s what I call a ‘soul champ.’ ”