Civil lawsuit for Alex Nieto moves forward
A civil suit on behalf of Alex Nieto, against the City and County of San Francisco, will go to trial on March 1, 2016, nearly two years after the unarmed 28-year-old security guard was shot to death by SFPD officers. A federal judge rejected the city’s attempt to have the Nieto family’s wrongful death suit dismissed, clearing the way for it to move forward. “We wouldn’t be out here if we didn’t think we had a strong case,” said Adante Pointer, the Nieto family’s attorney. “This may be the last and best opportunity for the family to get justice and for the community to understand what the true facts are.”
SFFD chief arson investigator dismissed
Captain John Darmanin, the head of the SFFD’s arson task force, has been relieved of his duties after making repeated public complaints about the dysfunction of his unit, which is heavily understaffed and includes a backlog of a reported 400 cases dating back to 2010. Darmanin said in an interview that he’s being punished for speaking out about staffing problems. “Comments that I made in a public forum at the Fire Commission meetings in recent months were not well received,” he said. Arson has become a flashpoint in the community because of the many fires that have hit rent-controlled buildings over the last year.
Latino man shot and killed by police at Saint Luke’s
An armed 25-year-old man, later identified as Javier Lopez Garcia of San Jose, was shot and killed by SFPD officers on Nov. 11 after climbing atop the sixth floor of a construction site at Saint Luke’s Hospital. Lopez Garcia had allegedly robbed a sporting goods store in San Bruno earlier that day. According to officials, he was thought to be suicidal, allegedly saying, “I am ready to die. Today will be the day I die.”
Mission property manager ordered to pay $780,000 to tenants
The Mission property manager accused of pocketing rent from tenants (which El Tecolote reported in August of 2014) has been ordered to pay damages for negligence and emotional distress totaling $780,000 to nine former tenants. German Maldonado, who was the master tenant at 3150-31-54 26th St., had taken money from his subtenants for years— $41,000 in total according to testimony. Forced to live in “squalid” conditions, the tenants were afraid to approach the landlord for fear of losing below-market rate housing. Finally, in Aug. 2014, 25 tenants were served eviction notices when Maldonado failed to pay rent.