DA to drop charges against ex-officer in shooting

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said she plans to drop manslaughter charges against a former police officer who became the first to be charged for an on-duty killing in the city. Jenkins said the charges were politically motivated.

Jenkins said in a letter to Attorney General Rob Bonta that she plans to drop the charges against San Francisco police officer Christopher Samayoa at a March 1 hearing.

Samayoa was on his fourth day on the job when in 2017 he fatally shot Keita O’neil, a carjacking suspect, during a police chase.

Chesa Boudin, Jenkins’ predecessor, charged Samayoa with manslaughter and other charges after he took office in 2020, calling his decision “historic.” He was recalled from his post last year amid frustration over the pandemic and viral footage of Asian seniors being assaulted in San Francisco.

In the letter obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, Jenkins said that an investigation into Boudin’s handling of the case revealed internal conflicts. She said the charges were filed just before the statute of limitations for manslaughter was to expire and the warrant was signed by an investigator who had been assigned to the case days earlier.

Boudin told the San Francisco Chronicle he filed the case on the facts. “She is scapegoating me to try to divert attention from what this decision ultimately reveals about her: Jenkins will not hold everyone equally accountable under the law, she is deeply politically motivated, and she does not care about victims of police violence,” he said.