Kenneth Harding Killed By Police In Bayview: Cops Checking Muni Fares Kill Man As He Flees (GRAPHIC VIDEO) [UPDATED]

UPDATE: According to The Examiner, Kenneth Harding, the 19-year-old killed by San Francisco police in a shootout Saturday, was a convicted pimp accused of having a 14-year-old girl perform oral sex on him and later demanding the teen make money for him through prostitution, court documents show.

On Saturday afternoon, 19-year old Kenneth Harding was shot and killed by police conducting a routine Muni fare inspection in the Bayview.

According to SF Weekly, Harding, a Washington State parolee, was wanted in Seattle as a person of interest in last week's slaying of a 19-year old pregnant woman, Tanaya Gilbert.

(SCROLL DOWN FOR AFTERMATH VIDEO)

A little before 5 p.m. on Saturday, two uniformed SFPD officers were checking for tickets on the T-Third line at a station near the intersection of Third Street and Oakdale Avenue, and stopped Harding for Muni fare evasion. Allegedly, when the officers attempted to detain Harding, he fled on foot and was shot multiple times by police. The suspect eventually succumbed to his injuries and died later that night at an area hospital.

Neither of the officers were injured during the incident.

"Information is still preliminary," SFPD Sgt. Michael Andraychak told the Examiner, "but we believe that during the foot pursuit, the suspect fired at the uniformed officers."

Later, police reported that Harding had drawn a gun and fired indiscriminately at the pursuing officers.

However, ABC 7 reports there were some at the scene who disputed the police's official version of events:

Eyewitnesses...[told] ABC7 News they didn't see any shots being fired at the officers.

"I just seen shots going forward," said resident Henry Taylor. " I didn't see shots coming backwards."

Police said they have since recovered the gun the suspect reportedly used in the shooting, which had been removed from the scene by a bystander. "Due to the cooperation of the community, independent witnesses, and the incredible teamwork of the Bayview officers and the gang task force, we recovered the weapon at 10:30 last night," SFPD Chief Greg Suhr told KTVU during an AIDS walk in Golden Gate Park. "God bless the Bayview community members who had the courage to come forward and pretty much tell us the entire story."

A few hours after the shooting took place, a gristly video was posted on YouTube depicting the tragic incident's bloody aftermath.

The video shows a large crowd gathering around the injured suspect, who is lying on ground in a pool of his own blood. The crowd appears largely hostile to the police and numerous bystanders can be seen expressing shock and dismay.

At about 0:15 on the video, what looks like a silver handgun can be seen on the sidewalk in the lower right-hand corner of the video. Around 1:21, a bystander can be seen picking up what appears to be a cellphone, presumably the victim's, off the sidewalk.

WATCH (GRAPHIC CONTENT):

This is the second time in as many weeks San Francisco's mass transit system has been the scene of a deadly police shooting. Earlier this month, BART police shot and killed Charles Hill at the Civic Center BART station. Police attest Hill was drunk at the time of the shooting and lunging at officers with a knife; however, much like this weekend's shooting, eyewitnesses have disputed the police's official version of events.

Around 1 a.m. Sunday morning, a group protesting the Bayview shooting coalesced in the Mission near the intersection of 16th and Valencia. Protestors made their way though the neighborhood causing minor property damage. No arrests were made. SFPD officers in riot gear quickly gathered in the area to make sure the late-night demonstration didn't get out of hand.

SF Appeal reports:

Bystanders said the crowd had gathered in response to Saturday's shooting, when a 19-year-old man was fatally shot by police in the city's Bayview neighborhood.

"They're rioting because people are pissed," one woman told Bay City News.

"My heart goes out to the family as they grieve the loss of their loved one," said Bayview Supervisor Malia Cohen in a written statement. "Today's shooting is under ongoing Police investigation, and I urge anyone with any information to notify SFPD immediately. I intend to review the results of the internal investigation from the Police Department to ensure Department protocol was followed."

Comments

[NatTurner1]

08:12 AM on 07/22/2011

ha! Now the police are saying all their bullets missed the guy and that he killed himself, and there was no gun found....still! It was a lie!

[AFisher31]

10:56 PM on 07/21/2011

So sad reading comments on here...This young man was shot and killed by the police and now they're saying he shot himself...LOL I had no idea how slow AMerica was until this. I am convinced our country is a country of the past

[Lon Don]

11:41 PM on 07/21/2011

Are you that indoctrinated? The slug was a .380 and the police only carry .40 caliber...there's no way around it. You are a classic example of confirmation bias...when evidence comes out showing that you're WRONG you ignore it and dig your heels in deeper. Stop being delusional.

[NatTurner1]

08:15 AM on 07/22/2011

Yeah, because police have never owned a different calibre. To say this man committed suicide based on a slug is the most stupid excuse Ive ever heard. Do you realize they have not found the gun and that the report they did was erroneous? They are saying that there was gun residue on his hand and the slug was .38 calbre. But they never confirmed that it matched the gun found, because they admitted they have not found the gun! This was murder and cover-up and typical neanderthals are believing everything the police are lying about!

[AFisher31]

12:11 PM on 07/22/2011

Run full speed down the street and shoot yourself in the head, back and legs, ten times, the throw the gun on top of a house that don't exist...STUPID

[darrellnls]

12:59 AM on 07/21/2011

BLACKS INSTEAD OF DOING DRIVEBYS ON EACH OTHER...JUST DRIVE BY THOSE DONUT SHOP THATS WHERE YOU WILL FIND YOUR TARGET SITTING THERE TALKING ABOUT WHO THEY SHOT.

[dbrett480]

12:55 PM on 07/20/2011

All the evidence points to a fully justified police shooting (and a mob of liars); but does that matter to the mob or community "leaders" such as Malia Cohen? No, they use this opportunity to bash law enforcement and try to turn the community against cops. For these thugs, it's easier to make cops the enemy than actual criminals.

[AnotherTry]

05:07 AM on 07/20/2011

So what most of you here are saying is that if you run from police, you must be guilty of something worthy of the death penalty and therefore deserve to be shot with no trial and no need for evidence. F you all.

[dbrett480]

12:56 PM on 07/20/2011

No, they are saying that if you shoot at cops, the cops will defend themselves. Unfortunately officers don't have the ability to try the person that is shooting at them.

[Pavarti Ben]

07:34 PM on 07/19/2011

Why would you run away from the cops over a $2.00 fare? Why would you run period? I certainly don't feel happy about anybody dying, but does anybody think this guy came to SF to turn his life around and be a productive member of society? One of our daughters, sisters, nieces, or granddaughter could have been his next victim.

I think the public is being too critical of the officers. I ride MUNI, Bart, and Caltrain and have never gotten shot. And, no I am not white! Meanwhile residents of Bayview are attacking innocent Muni drivers, vandalizing buses, and light rails in protest.

[counterpart76]

07:01 AM on 07/21/2011

If he was not a convict, but the circumstances surrounding the indecent were the same, would you feel the same?

[Pavarti Ben]

08:22 AM on 07/21/2011

Of course not. But, would he still run? I see no reason to run if you've nothing to run about. It's the events that lead up to it. I certainly don't think killing is the answer but I feel no sympathy for this individual. The mentally/psychologically challenged gentleman who was shot and killed a few weeks back, now that was unjustifiable!
Yes, I do think they need better training and perhaps not even be permitted to carry guns. But the circumstances of this incident lead to the result. Cannot separate the circunstances from the issue.

[NatTurner1]

01:05 PM on 07/19/2011

There was no gun. If you have access to the full video, it is almost impossible for someone to take a gun when the cops had this man fully surrounded while he was still alive and no gun present. The people did not start to gather until he was unconsciencious and dead.

I call BS on the police report!

[BigMyk]

01:36 PM on 07/19/2011

So you're saying you didn't read the article above that you just commented on ANd didn't watch the video alluded to in the article showing where the gun landed some 20-25 feet from where the man fell (and his cell phone which landed 10 to 15 feet from him, in the same direction as the firearm).

The SFPD officer's initial perimeter was simply too small for them to control the area where the stuff landed.

[NatTurner1]

02:29 PM on 07/19/2011

1) I read the article
2) I looked at the video here
3) I watched the video of another witness on another site.

I was simply saying that seeing the victim alive with 8 officer and guns drawn on him and no people around and at least 30 perimeter yards, how in the hell did they not see a gun until 5 hours later, found on someone that is not on video when the victim was still alive? You wopuld really have to see this other video. The victim is just shot, and police are all around...how is a gun missed?

[mayslc]

02:46 PM on 07/19/2011

I'm calling BS too!

If the victim did have a gun, you would think that it would be the FIRST thing that the police would secure (especially among a crowd of people).

Police have historically taken a "better safe than sorry" approach when using lethal force against black men. How many times does the excuse "he was reaching for something" fly before it begins to get old?

The police are gonna have to show some CONCRETE proof that this young man had a gun and indeed fired first. I'm not buying it!

[dbrett480]

01:00 PM on 07/20/2011

For people who continue to use the race angle on EVERY officer involved shooting, no amount of evidence will matter. The video clearly shows a gun and a bystander taking it away, and the "victim" had gunshot residue on his hand (indicating that he fired a gun).

[srooge]

04:51 AM on 07/19/2011

Budget control

[Lord Ligonier]

01:27 AM on 07/19/2011

If I didn't know better I'd SWEAR that video was an Obama Rally.

[dbrett480]

10:39 PM on 07/18/2011

Good shoot. No one misses this animal.

[NatTurner1]

02:31 PM on 07/19/2011

That is exactly what was said about this man. Seems nothing has changed: http://withoutsanctuary.org/photos/25.jpg

[scalarintel]

03:16 PM on 07/19/2011

nothing has changed. including our cowardly reaction to their agression. when that changes, their days r numbered

[dbrett480]

01:00 PM on 07/20/2011

Was that man a murderer and a pimp of teenage girls?

[scalarintel]

02:50 PM on 07/19/2011

this is how u value life? what makes him an animal? did he cut off funding in his parents district before he was born? how many rich neighborhoods of any color have a crime problem from the residents? how many poor white neighborhoods send all of their kids to ivy league schools? u r less than 3 generations away from family members who planned participated and profited from the biggest genocide in human history and from ur words i can see u ppl have not changed nor fell from the that tree. im not gonna ask u to watch your mouth, instead i want u to talk this way more often. i want the rest of my people to see attempting to get along with yall is futile. then we can go about giving u a taste of your own medicine

[MariaMaria]

04:53 PM on 07/19/2011

Who are the "yall" and "we" you speak of? Who are the "my people"? MAYBE dbrett480 was speaking about the type of person accused of murdering an innocent young girl and her baby as being an animal.

[dbrett480]

01:01 PM on 07/20/2011

Anyone who is a pimp of teen prostitutes is an animal in my books. If you had the sad opportunity to meet teen prostitutes you would agree with me.

[NatTurner1]

10:05 PM on 07/18/2011

I just saw the full video on another website...a video that show 4 police with weapons drawn surround the suspect while he was still alive. The new excuse is that he had a gun that soneone in the crowd grabbed. Im calling BS! There is no way whatspoever that the police did not see the gun as the suspect is still on the ground...alive! The video shows not 1 single-solitary person around the suspect but the police! The cops have cooked up a way to get out of shooting this guy dead in the back! Sad!

[teaksmama]

07:54 PM on 07/18/2011

the initial crime might've been whatever led this boy into crime in the first place. meanwhile, however much i would love to strangle a couple of sf cops myself for illegal arrest, physical abuse, illegal detention with no charges, etc, i know that not all cops are like this. i sure wish the cops had at least put some pressure on the boy's wounds as he lay dying. they looked scared of the crowd. many comments coming from the crowd were presumptive and threatening. not our best day, humans. we have to do better.

[dbrett480]

10:40 PM on 07/18/2011

This "boy?" He was a murderer and a pimp. If this were to happen in any other place other than San Francisco, people would be applauding his death.

[Kainenchen]

10:12 AM on 07/19/2011

Uh, different crimes. It doesn't matter if he was wanted for some other crime; he is entitled to a trial for whatever he's done. Being summarily executed is kinda not cool.

[teaksmama]

09:44 PM on 07/20/2011

what? no, there are alot of people around the country and the world who would never applaud someone's death. this was a boy. that's a fact. he blew it, that's another fact. it was, seemingly by all evidence available, self defense and defense of bystanders on the part of the cops. still, dbrett, not to be applauded. only heartless people applaud the death of another.

[californiananc]

12:23 AM on 07/19/2011

It seemed like a pretty "disgruntled" crowd. I don't think I would have turned my back on them either to aid this person, unless I had the proper back-up in what sounds like a pretty irate crowd.

[gotrevolution]

08:19 PM on 07/19/2011

Why the hell do you think they were irate??? They were watching a man get killed and die a slow and tortuous death as he struggled to raise himself from a growing pool of blood! In a community, by the way, that has been plagued by all sorts of police brutality for centuries. How the hell else do you expect them to react?

[MFS001]

05:40 PM on 07/18/2011

How come the headline has not been updated. It is very misleading as written.

[lesc0]

04:46 PM on 07/18/2011

Whether he was innocent or not doesn't justify leaving someone to bleed out on a sidewalk in broad daylight w/ an angry mob ready to riot. It was not only wrong but stupid.

[sam green 31605]

05:52 PM on 07/18/2011

and what of the officers safety? This was only a few minutes old when the film started rolling. this ex criminal took shots at police and could very well have hurt innocents. if mr messy sidewalk had complied he would not be deceased.

[skai rc]

05:56 PM on 07/18/2011

I agree...The cops should have disregarded their own safety and the safety of those around the suspect not knowing whether or not he might still be in possession of a firearm. They should have dragged him off into a corner and hid him from public view and then one of the cops should have stuck his fingers in the guy's bullet wounds to plug the holes.

Better yet. They should have just stuck him in a molecular transporter (like on Star Trek) and 'beamed' him to the Hospital. Can anyone really believe that it took a whole ten minutes for an ambulance to arrive?.

I swear sometimes. Are there people that know how the real world works or do some people just think everything is like they see on TV/Movies?

Lesson on hemorrhaging traumas here. When somebody loses that much blood(what looks to be about four pints in the vids). They usually ain't gonna make it.

[gotrevolution]

08:21 PM on 07/19/2011

Whatever happened to shoot to temporarily immobilize, not to kill [assuming he even shot at the cops]? Or proper training with tasers?

[lesc0]

04:59 PM on 07/20/2011

Officer safety? lol so a large group of people gathering around and watching someone die while the officers responsible are just posing there w/ guns aren't a threat? Come on use common sense, they could have at least pretended to care for the guy while the ambulance arrived to try to calm people down.
You talk about reality but apparently didn't fully think through the different possible outcomes and consequences that may have occurred in that little situation they were in.

[Chadskies]

04:08 PM on 07/18/2011

The comments are here people: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/17/bayview-police-shooting-muni_n_901197.html

Calm down...