Charges Dismissed in Fatal S.F. Police Shooting of Cammerin Boyd

Misconduct charges were dismissed against four police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a disabled man who opened fire during a car chase because they were not reviewed by the police chief. The Office of Citizen Complaints improperly bypassed a mandatory 60-day consultation period with Police Chief Heather Fong before filing charges from the May 2004 shooting of attempted kidnapping suspect Cammerin Boyd, a San Francisco Superior Court judge ruled this month. The civilian watchdog group caved to political pressure after a heated Police Commission meeting demanding accountability for the shooting, the judge ruled. Boyd, 29, led police on a chase through the Western Addition after a woman reported that he threatened her with a gun and tried to force her into his SUV, police said. Boyd fled when officers tried to pull him over and fired on police during the chase, police said. Officers Timothy Paine, 39, and James O'Malley, 36, were accused of improperly firing their weapons. Officers Owen Sweeney III, 57, and Ferdinand Dimapasoc, 39, were charged with violating the department's pursuit guidelines. The group is allowed to refile the charges, and has forwarded the investigation findings to Fong to initiate the consultation process, Allen said. Boyd was a double-amputee who lost both legs below the knee after crashing his mother's Mercedes-Benz during a 1993 chase with California Highway Patrol officers. [MORE]