Police Forced To Take Down Suspect Who Went For Gun

At a town hall meeting last Friday, the San Francisco police chief released details about the 3-hour standoff in the Glen Park neighborhood on May 19 in which a police officer fatally shot the suspect, KRON-4 reported.

During the standoff, Sergio Barrios, 40, listened to music on headphones while snorting cocaine and drinking vodka as police tried to get him to surrender. When Barrios reached for a handgun he had tossed on the ground, an officer shot and killed him.

During the town hall, police played the 911 calls about the incident and showed video footage both from the officers’ body-cams and area surveillance cameras.

In total, 55 officers were on the scene on Bosworth Street, as well as a hostage negotiation team and a police robot equipped with a live-streaming camera.

The incident began at 2:20 pm on May 19 when a tenant in the apartment building reported that Barrios, who also lives in the building, had broken into his basement apartment and was armed with a gun.

When officers arrived, Barrios stepped onto a breezeway with a vodka bottle in one hand and a gun in the other. Officers ordered him to drop the weapon. Body-cam video shows Barrios complying with the order, tossing the gun a few feet away.

One officer can be heard on his body-cam footage repeatedly warning Barrios that he would shoot if Barrios attempts to reach for the gun.

For three hours, Barrios refused to comply with police orders to walk out of the breezeway and surrender.

In the video, police watch as Barrios snorted cocaine in front of them, all the while remaining close to the gun. Eventually, Barrios reached for the gun, and Officer Gregory Buhagiar shot him.

Barrios later died at the hospital.

Prosecutors from the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office have yet to decide if they will file criminal charges against Officer Buhagiar, a 22-year veteran of the San Francisco Police.