California won’t pursue criminal charges against San Francisco police officers who shot and killed two men in 2022, the state’s Department of Justice said this week.
The shooting happened on May 19, 2022, after officers responded to a 911 call about an assault under a freeway overpass in the Mission Bay neighborhood. The caller reported seeing a man, later identified as Rafael Mendoza, 49, carrying a bat or baton in each hand, hitting an unhoused person’s tent, according to the state’s report.
When officers got there, they found Michael MacFhionghain, 57, on top of Mendoza, wielding a knife, and they repeatedly told MacFhionghain to drop the weapon, investigators wrote. When he didn’t follow the orders and moved the knife toward Mendoza, four officers opened fire. One bullet struck Mendoza, who was unarmed, and both men were killed.
The autopsy showed that MacFhionghain sustained nine gunshot wounds to the chest, back, flank and buttocks, and Mendoza was shot once in the chest, according to the report.
Investigators concluded there’s not enough evidence to prove the officers committed a crime. According to the report, the officers likely believed they needed to shoot to save Mendoza’s life: “A prosecution, therefore, could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers’ use of force was unlawful.”
The report recommends that the San Francisco Police Department give officers more training to designate one officer at each scene to speak with a suspect, to minimize confusing or conflicting communication.
Under state law, the DOJ is required to investigate anytime a police officer kills an unarmed citizen in California.
California is currently investigating around 50 of these cases, dating back to 2022, including five in the Bay Area. Most recently, officials said they were investigating the fatal shooting of Anthony Joseph Anderson near San Leandro.
The San Francisco Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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