San Francisco Protest Over Police Shooting of Kenneth Harding Turns Violent, 35 People Arrested
Kenneth Harding may have been a convicted pimp and an accused murderer, but an angry mob of more than 150 people made it known yesterday that they felt San Francisco police had no business shooting Harding five times in the back because he didn't pay his bus fare. The demonstrators stormed through Frisco's Mission and Castro neighborhoods, lobbing smoke bombs into light-rail stations, using sticks and hammers to smash signs and windows, and chanting "How do you spell murder? SFPD!"
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, police arrested 35 people who took part in the unrest. The AP has video of the aftermath: Meanwhile, San Francisco police announced that forensic testing showed that Harding had gunshot residue on his hands and fingers at the time of his death. Officers involved in the shooting contend that Harding had a gun and was firing wildly at them during the deadly foot chase that occurred early Saturday evening in city's Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood.
No gun was found on or near Harding's body at the scene. Police claim that's because in the near-riot that ensued after Harding was shot, a bystander made off with Harding's pistol. Later that night, the cops recovered a .45 caliber handgun that they believe belonged to Harding.
Harding was a "person of interest" in the shooting of 19-year-old Tanaya Gilbert last week in Seattle. He hailed from the Bay Area, but had been making his home recently in Washington. He'd been convicted of two felonies -- for pimping and assault -- and was on parole at the time of his death.
Though the 19-year-old Harding was hardly a choirboy, his death has reignited outrage among San Francisco residents who believe their police force is too eager to pull the trigger on citizens. On July 3, police for the city's light-rail service killed a 45-year-old transient who threw a bottle at two officers and brandished a knife. One of the officers shot him to death on the BART Civic Center Station platform in the heart of the city.
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