The family of a black man killed in July in California said the man had mental health struggles and they wished police would have talked to him rather than shoot him, KTVU reported.
Ryant Bluford, 41, was fatally shot on July 26 while interrupting an arrest and aiming a gun at San Francisco police officers at the intersection of Fairfax Avenue and Catalina Street in the Bayview neighborhood, KTVU reported.
“I really want to learn what de-escalation strategies they employ. Out of all of those police officers, I wish one of them would have taken the time to say ‘hey, let’s talk,'” L’oreal Earl, Bluford’s cousin, said, according to KTVU. Bluford was reportedly grappling with bereavement, having lost his mother to cancer late last year.
“We do not condone violence. We are a peaceful family. Unfortunately, the circumstances did happen. But as you know, police make mistakes as well and so do human beings,” Charlesettta Earl, another cousin, reportedly said, the outlet noted. (RELATED: Increased Crime Causes San Francisco To Bump Pay For Police Officers)
The family of a black man who was shot by San Francisco police after he pointed a handgun at them, which was caught on video, say officers should’ve used de-escalation tactics instead of shooting him.
“I wish one of them would’ve just took the time to say, ‘Hey, let’s talk.'” pic.twitter.com/nrWF9FSNR5
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) August 7, 2023
The San Francisco Police Department conducted a virtual town hall regarding the shooting on Friday and published the compiled bodycam videos of the shooting, KTVU reported. In the video, plainclothes officers could be seen making an arrest when Bluford challenged the officers. Officers alerted one another that Bluford was armed, and uniformed backup officers arriving on the scene could be heard repeatedly issuing both orders and appeals to Bluford to raise his hands. Bluford pointed what appeared to be a handgun at the officers and was shot, the videos showed. Officers could be seen offering aid to Bluford at the scene.
Despite aid from the officers and medics at the scene and later at the hospital, Bluford died, the police said in a statement. Bluford was unconnected to the actual arrest, the statement noted.