Local
Video Shows SFPD Officer Made Contact With Scooter Rider Before Fatal Crash, Contradicting Police Account
Newly released surveillance footage appears to show a plainclothes San Francisco police officer tackling Edwin Michael Adams moments before his fatal crash, contradicting the department's initial account that he simply fell. The video, obtained by the public defender's office, raises questions about police transparency and the circumstances of the 56-year-old's death.
Newly released surveillance footage appears to show a plainclothes San Francisco police officer making physical contact with a man fleeing on a scooter moments before he crashed and died last month â an encounter the police department did not disclose in its initial public account of the death.
Edwin Michael Adams, 56, died on Oct. 12 near the corner of Eighth and Mission streets after police attempted to detain him on an arrest warrant related to his ankle monitor, according to the public defender's office, which obtained and released the video.
The footage shows Adams riding a scooter down Mission Street with an unmarked police car in pursuit. A second vehicle had stopped in front of him. A plainclothes officer then leaps toward Adams, makes contact with him, and falls to the ground. Adams appears to strike a bus stop immediately afterward.
The San Francisco Police Department's initial statement said only that Adams fell and died. It made no mention of an officer making physical contact with him before the crash. The department has not released body-worn camera footage of the incident.
The discrepancy between the video and the department's account is raising questions about transparency and the circumstances surrounding Adams' death. The public defender's office released the footage as part of its ongoing scrutiny of police conduct.
The incident comes amid heightened local and national attention to police use of force and the adequacy of official accounts of fatal encounters. Advocates have long argued that independent video evidence is essential to holding law enforcement accountable, particularly when departments control the release of body-camera footage.
The police department has not responded publicly to the video's release or to questions about why the officer's contact with Adams was omitted from its initial statement. It was not immediately clear whether any disciplinary review or independent investigation has been opened.
Adams' death and the newly surfaced footage are likely to intensify calls for a full public accounting of what happened that day, including the release of all available video and a clear timeline of the officers' actions.