Mother sues San Francisco police for fatally shooting son

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Northern California mother has filed a civil-rights lawsuit alleging a San Francisco police rookie wrongfully shot and killed her unarmed son as he fled from a stolen van he was driving earlier this month.

Lawyers for the mother of 42-year-old Keita O'Neil filed the lawsuit today in federal court in San Francisco.

Officer Christopher Samayoa was riding in the passenger seat of a patrol car when he shot O'Neil in the head on Dec. 1. Samayoa had graduated from the city's police academy four days before the shooting and was riding with a field training officer.

The lawsuit alleges O'Neil jumped from a slow-moving van and was fleeing on foot when Samayoa needlessly fired his gun.