Alex Nieto
| Time | Approximately 7:00 PM (PST) |
|---|---|
| Date | March 21, 2014 |
| Location | Bernal Heights Park, San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Participants |
|
| Deaths | Alejandro "Alex" Nieto |
| Charges | None filed |
| Litigation | Lawsuit (Nieto v. City of San Francisco), jury found officers not responsible |
The death of Alejandro "Alex" Nieto occurred on March 21, 2014 in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Nieto was shot by four San Francisco Police Department officers while he was eating his dinner in the park before a night shift at work. A confrontation between Nieto and another civilian led to a bystander calling 911. Nieto was wearing a taser. Police claim that Nieto pointed the taser at them. Police claimed to have believed that the taser was a firearm.
The San Francisco County District Attorney's Office declined to file criminal charges against the four officers involved in the shooting. Nieto's family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, alleging wrongful death. In March 2016, a jury cleared the four officers of all charges.
Nieto, 28, was born on March 3, 1986 in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California, to parents Refugio Nieto and Elvira Nieto (née Rodriguez), Mexican immigrants from the town of Tarimoro, Guanajuato.
When he was younger, he worked as a youth counselor at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center for over four years. He also spent two years in the San Francisco Police Activities League (PAL).
In 2007, Nieto obtained a California state license to work as a security guard.
Nieto graduated from the community college, City College of San Francisco, with a concentration in criminal justice. During this time he held an internship at the City of San Francisco's juvenile probation department.
He was a Buddhist.
Nieto worked as a bouncer at a local nightclub. Around 7:00 pm on the night of March 21, 2014, he was walking along the path on a hilltop park called Bernal Heights Park eating tortilla chips, wearing a red San Francisco 49ers jacket, black 49ers cap, white t-shirt, black pants. Under his 49ers jacket, he wore a holstered taser covered in bright yellow marks that he used for his job. A local resident named Evan Snow who was in his 30s and worked in the computer industry had been walking his dog, who wanted Nieto's chips, barking and howling, pushing Nieto onto some benches. Snow was not attending his dog, was at least 40 feet away. Nieto pulled out his taser and made a motion pointing it at the dog. Words were exchanged and Nieto and Snow went their separate ways. Snow allegedly used racial slurs and texted a friend that "in another state like Florida, I would have been justified in shooting Mr Nieto that night." Tim Isgitt and partner Justin Fritz were walking their dog shortly thereafter. Noting a rattled Nieto who had his hand on his taser, Fritz called 911, reporting a man with a handgun wearing a red jacket that is often associated with gang colors.
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Wikipedia