Protest shuts down San Francisco BART Stations

While some people were busy trying to get free 7-11 Slurpees, others were in the streets demanding justice for Charles Hill.



It's been ten days since BART Police gunned down a "wobbly drunk" at the Civic Center Station in San Francisco. The man, since identified as Charles Blair Hill, is accused by police of being "aggressive,""holding a bottle and a knife," and getting into a "confrontation" that "caused" the police to shoot him.

On July 11, about 100 people came out to protest the murder of Charles Hill. Protesters demanded the release of surveillance video of the shooting. BART Police Chief Kenton Rainey has reviewed the video and said he was "comfortable" with what he saw. Protesters weren't and, while calling for BART to be disbanded, disrupted the evening commute.



When I arrived, BART had already shut down the Civic Center, the site of the crime. Catching up with protesters at Powell Street Station and later 16th, here's a video of the protest that went down Mission Street, down Market, through the Tenderloin where Hill was known, and ended up in the tourist destination of Market and Powell Street.

Last April, protesters took action at Embarcadero Station to push for BART hired gun Tony Pirone to be fired.

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