Acquiescing to public demand, BART today released surveillance videos of the shooting death of Charles Hill, a transient who was killed by transit police over the July 4 weekend, sparking raucous protests.
Hill, 45, was shot on the Civic Center platform after purportedly menacing an officer with knives and a bottle.
Those hoping to understand why the homeless man died a violent death will not be satisfied by this footage.
In this video, we do not see Hill. We do, however, see a police officer step off a train. At around the 53-second mark he unholsters his weapon and, not five seconds later, fires it. An object -- one of Hill's two knives, according to BART spokesman Jim Allison -- whisks through the periphery of the frame.
Witnesses to the shooting said Hill was not running or lunging toward the officers. No footage to verify that exists, according to Allison. Screen captures from the enhanced version of the video can be seen after the jump.
BART will shortly release footage of a news conference in which, presumably, someone will explain the significance of this surveillance footage. That will be posted here.
