Alex Nieto

Alejandro "Alex" Nieto was a man who was shot and killed by four San Francisco Police Department officers on March 21, 2014, in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Nieto was a bouncer at a local nightclub, and the shooting took place before he was to start work that evening. A couple called 911 when they saw him sitting on a bench and saw Nieto's taser. Nieto was wearing a taser, and the police officers alleged that Nieto pointed the taser at them. The responding police officers also said they believed that the taser was a firearm.

The San Francisco County District Attorney's Office declined to file criminal charges against the four officers involved in the shooting. Nieto's family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, alleging wrongful death. In March 2016, a jury cleared the four officers of all charges.

Background Nieto, 28, was born on March 3, 1986, in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California, to parents Refugio Nieto and Elvira Nieto (née Rodriguez), Mexican immigrants from the town of Tarimoro, Guanajuato.

In 2007, Nieto obtained a California state license to work as a security guard.

Lawsuit Alex's parents retained the Law Offices of John Burris and filed a federal civil rights claim arguing the police wrongfully shot their son. The trial ended on March 10, 2016, and a jury unanimously cleared the four officers of all charges. It was found that the taser's clock, which showed that the weapon's trigger had been pulled. Nieto's prior issues with mental health were discussed, as toxicology reports found he was not on medication when he was killed. Also discussed were two separate incidents in 2011 when Nieto had contact with law enforcement and resulted in 72-hour mental health holds. The family argued that the police used excessive force and that there was contradictory evidence and details about what happened.

Response

Nieto's death and the verdict sparked waves of demonstrations and rallies in the Bay Area, protesting against police brutality and excessive use of force against minority groups amidst calls for SFPD Chief Greg Suhr's resignation. In March 2016, on the day before Nieto's trial started, San Francisco public school children staged a walk out from school in protest. and the threats faced by Latino communities increasingly displaced by gentrification in the city. After the publication of the verdict, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California published a piece pointing at racial bias within SFPD and calling for urgent policing reform. On April 21, 2016, five protesters started a 17-day hunger strike in San Francisco's Mission District to demonstrate against recent police killings, including Alex Nieto's death.

On May 19, 2016, Police Chief Suhr resigned after an officer-involved killing of a 29-year-old woman. Jessica Williams was shot by San Francisco police in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood during a car chase.

In popular culture Singer Chuck Prophet memorialized Nieto in his song "Alex Nieto."