Family and friends of Ryant Bluford, a black man, are criticizing the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) because their officers killed Bluford when they should have de-escalated the situation, despite the fact Bluford tried to prevent officers from arresting someone, verbally threatened them, and finally pointed a handgun at officers.
The incident played out in July, when plainclothes officers were arresting another black man who had a warrant. Bluford then approached the officers was immediately aggressive with them, demanding they uncuff him and to "leave my hood!" As the situation became more dangerous due to Bluford's actions, patrol officers arrived on the scene.
Bluford began to reach into his waistband, where officers noticed he had a handgun. The officers ordered Bluford to put his hands up, which he refused to do. He then raised the handgun towards the officers, who then shot him in self-defense.
At a vigil for Bluford, neighbors and family said police make "mistakes" too.
"Out of all the police officers, I wish one of them would've just took the time to say, 'Hey, let's talk,'" a cousin of Bluford told KTVU.
The family admitted that, as of Friday, they had not seen the body camera footage SFPD had released.
The shooting happened after Ryant Bluford intervened and was extremely aggressive towards police arresting someone who had a warrant, getting in their faces shouting: "Uncuff him right now...Get the fuck out my hood...I'll fuck you up right here!" pic.twitter.com/1q6jNeTihb
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) August 7, 2023
Bluford had a criminal history. He was was convicted in the 2006 gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in San Francisco, and spent more than a decade in prison. He was again charged in 2022 for domestic violence and sexual assault, according to Mission Local.
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