After police held an informational meeting this week regarding an officer-involved shooting earlier this month in San Francisco, some details about the shooting remain unknown and it appears that police bypassed several procedural steps before resorting to lethal force.
During the virtual town hall, the San Francisco Police Department presented 911 calls and video footage related to the shooting of Dmitri Hochstatter by police in his backyard after he allegedly pointed a gun at a police drone.
However, the town hall on Tuesday raised more questions than it answered, including whether a police bullet struck Hochstatter or if he shot himself. Police also did not order Hochstatter to drop his apparent gun, nor did they use non-lethal force devices before shooting, according to Police Chief Bill Scott.
On March 8 at 4:23 p.m., dispatch received a call from a mother who said that a neighbor in an adjacent backyard on the 1200 block of 41st Avenue was yelling at her children to be quiet while waving a gun. The children, who are all under the age of four, were playing outside in their backyard.
A responding officer inside the caller’s home can be heard on body cam audio saying that he saw Hochstatter walking around in his backyard with a gun in hand. Hochstatter then retreated into his home.
The mother told officers that Hochstatter had been drinking, was depressed, and owned four firearms, according to police.
Police deployed a drone to hover over Hochstatter’s tree-covered backyard and capture a better view of him. After about 30 minutes, Hochstatter walked outside with what appeared to be a gun in his right hand, according to drone footage provided by police.
“As he walks toward the north fence, he points the firearm into the air then at the drone flying above,” said Acting Commander Mark Im said during the presentation.
Hochstatter can be seen holding onto the fence and waving what appears to be a gun in the air. At one point, he points the gun directly at the drone.
While his hand with the apparent gun is hanging over the fence line, an officer positioned on the balcony of the caller’s home lets out multiple rounds toward Hochstatter.
After the first of five shots, Hochstatter lunges backward to seek cover behind the fence. He then swiftly walks away under the cover of the trees before getting on the ground in surrender.
As officers rendered aid to Hochstatter who lay bleeding from his arm, Hochstatter told officers in a slurred voice that “the guys in the other house over there, they’re bad.”
Two officers positioned at a different vantage point said that they saw Hochstatter shoot himself in the arm. However, during public comment at the town hall, Police Chief Bill Scott said that no bullet casings were recovered in the area where Hochstatter was shot.
Officers did not yell at Hochstatter to drop the apparent gun before shooting at him. It was only after shots were fired that an officer ordered him to drop the apparent gun, according to body camera footage.
Concerns on use of force
Fabian Fernandez, a health care worker at San Francisco General Hospital, said during public comment that he helped care for Hochstatter in the intensive care unit after being shot. Fernandez questioned if using lethal force was the right choice.
“As someone who took care of him, he was incredibly kind,” Fernandez said. “Do the body camera videos and recordings demonstrate that he was warned to put down his weapon before he was shot?”
Scott said that officers were intending to use a public announcement speaker to order that Hochstatter drop the gun, but it could not be obtained before the shooting occurred.
“The plan called for a public announcement device to be bought from the district station to communicate with Hochstatter,” Scott said. “Unfortunately, the officer-involved shooting happened before that plan could be executed. They did not communicate and warn him.”
Unlike recent officer-involved shootings in San Francisco, non-lethal options like foam projectiles were not used before shots were fired. Scott did not say if police considered using non-lethal options.
In response to some statements from the public questioning the decision to use lethal force, Scott explained that at the time police believed Hochstatter posed a threat to both neighbors and the responding officers.
“In the presentation, you hear several pieces of evidence,” Scott said. “Number one: The 911 callers who were threatened with Mr. Hochstatter waving a gun at children in the neighborhood. Number two: Another person who said he had been drinking and was depressed. Number three: Several officers actually visualized Mr. Hochstatter not only waving a gun in the air but pointing it in the direction of people.”
Hochstatter is expected to recover from his injuries. Upon searching Hochstatter’s home, police were only able to recover one gun, the same gun he allegedly waved in the air.
Meanwhile, Scott said that the department cannot yet confirm the origin of the bullet that struck Hochstatter.
“This investigation ongoing,” Scott said. “What we know now is that several officers reported that Mr. Hochstatter had fired a shot. We are still investigating to confirm exactly what happened with that situation. We are not able to give you any conclusive answers at this point … We’re only ten days into this.”
