SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A San Francisco police officer fatally shot a man after a 3-hour-long standoff in the Glen Park neighborhood. The city’s police chief held a town hall meeting Friday afternoon and released details about what happened during the deadly May 19 standoff.

Sergio Barrios, 40, of San Francisco, snorted cocaine, listened to music with headphones, drank vodka, and refused to follow officers’ orders when they commanded him to walk out from an apartment building on Bosworth Street, according to police.

One officer ultimately fired lethal shots when Barrios reached for a handgun on the ground, according to the San Francisco Police Department. Medics began giving emergency aide 30 seconds after the shooting.

Police played 911 calls, videos recorded by officers’ body worn cameras, and surveillance videos showing the standoff and shooting. There were 55 officers on the scene, a BearCat armored vehicle, a crisis hostage negotiation team, and a robot equipped with a livestreaming camera.

Sergio Barrios is seen snorting cocaine using a dollar bill with a handgun nearby on May 19, 2023. (Image courtesy SFPD)

Videos recorded by SFPD officers’ body worn cameras and surveillance cameras were released here.

The incident began as a home invasion at 2:20 p.m. inside the basement level of the building, said SFPD Cmdr. Paul Yep. The basement level is an apartment, the first floor is a market, and the second floor has multiple apartments.

Barrios lives in the building, but he broke into another tenant’s apartment in the basement, according to a 911 caller.

A tenant called 911 and said Barrios had just broken into his home. The 911 caller told police that the intruder was still inside and armed with a gun.

When the first officers arrived on scene, Barrios stepped out onto a breezeway holding a vodka bottle in one hand and a gun in the other hand, Cmdr. Yep said.

When officers ordered Barrios to drop his gun, he tossed the handgun a few feet away onto the ground, video shows.

An officer can be heard on his body camera repeatedly warning, “If you reach for the gun, I’m going to shoot you. Come back to me.” But Barrios stopped complying with the officer’s orders, and refused to walk out from the backyard breezeway area towards officers.

English and Spanish speaking SFPD officers attempt to communicate with Barrios over a PA system while the officers were positioned inside a BearCat armored vehicle.

SFPD set up a command post and staging area with a BearCat armored vehicle. One of the officers on scene recognized Barrios from a 2021 incident, when Barrios shot his own dog, Cmdr. Yup said.  

Spanish-speaking officers shouted out to Barrios, telling him that his family was worried about him and urging him to surrender peacefully. Police watched a live video feed showing Barrios pull out a $1 bill and use it to snort lines of cocaine.

One officer said, “He’s snorting coke right now. The coke is kicking in,” and Barrios appeared to dance.

“He remained in close proximity to the firearm for hours,” Cmdr. Yup said.

This officer can be heard on his body camera repeatedly warning, “If you reach for the gun, I’m going to shoot you.” (Image courtesy SFPD)

Crisis teams continued trying to communicate with Barrios to surrender and resolve the standoff. One officer, Gregory Buhagiar, fatally shot him when Barrios reached toward the gun on the ground, Yup said. Barrios died at a hospital.

The shooting is the first time San Francisco police have killed a person during District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ time in office. Her prosecutors will decide if file criminal charges will be filed against Buhagiar, a 22-year-veteran in the SFPD.

Police Chief William Scott said Friday’s town hall was held to ensure transparency between the police force and the public.