Grand jury indicts officer in shooting

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin said Monday that a grand jury has indicted SFPD Officer Christopher Flores along with Jamaica Hampton in connection with a 2019 shooting.

On Dec. 7, 2019, Flores fired his weapon at Hampton while on duty and responding to a burglary report in the city’s Mission District. Hampton, allegedly armed with a glass bottle, was critically injured but survived the shooting.

According to Boudin, his office has asked for a small bail amount in each case and is not seeking pretrial detention. Additionally,

Boudin is asking the two to voluntarily surrender. Once they’ve surrendered and arraignments have been scheduled, Boudin said he’d provide more information.

The grand jury indictment indicates there’s probable cause to believe each committed crimes in the case.

The indictment against Flores becomes the second case against a San Francisco police officer involved in a shooting. Two weeks ago, Boudin announced that his office filed manslaughter charges against former officer Christopher Samoyoa, who fatally shot unarmed Keita O’Neal, 42, in the city’s Bayview District in 2017.

Boudin’s action comes several months after criticism from regional police departments and legal observers over initially declining to file charges. That criticism came against the backdrop of a similar shooting in January involving San Jose police officers who shot a man who charged them while holding a metal rod in his hand after trying to ignite a gas station pump nozzle.

In a rare instance of charges against police in connection with on-duty fatalities earlier this year, San Leandro Police officer Jason Fletcher was charged with manslaughter for shooting and killing Steven Taylor at a store.