The bullet that killed an armed man during a standoff in Bernal Heights last week was fired by a San Francisco police officer who had already discharged his weapon in two earlier police shootings, according to The Standard.
Multiple sources with knowledge of the incident identified the officer as Gregory Buhagiar, a 22-year veteran of the department. They said he fired the shot that killed Sergio Barrios, 40, on May 19. The department would not confirm that Buhagiar was the officer involved, but it is expected to release more details on Friday. Buhagiar declined to comment and referred questions to police spokespeople.
The incident began when officers responded to a report of a man with a gun at the New Bosworth Market, a corner store at Bosworth and Cuvier streets. Police said Barrios lived above the market and entered either the store or another residence on the property carrying a loaded gun and a bottle of alcohol. He appeared to be snorting cocaine in the market's backyard and was shot while reaching for his gun, during a standoff that lasted more than three hours, according to police.
It was not the first time Buhagiar had fired on someone. On Feb. 16, 2018, he was among seven officers who fired into a recreational vehicle in Potrero Hill after a murder suspect shot twice from inside. The officers had cornered the man, an alleged carjacker. No one was hit in the exchange. Video of the incident shows chaotic scenes after heavily armed officers heard gunfire from the RV, with two officers falling to the ground.
Buhagiar, the most senior officer at the scene and a member of the tactical Specialist Team, later said he emptied a 28-round magazine into the vehicle because he believed the suspect was shooting at him and his colleagues. "I immediately felt like my life, like I was going to die, and I returned fire to that window," he told an investigator, according to records released by the Department of Police Accountability. "I was trying to end the threat," he added.
Investigations found he fired lawfully and within department policy. Even so, the watchdog agency recommended that SFPD improve its policies for responding to people barricaded in vehicles and homes. It warned that patrol officers who engage a barricaded person instead of retreating and waiting for specialists "may escalate a situation and increase the safety risk to officers and civilians." One person who complained to the agency said police carried out the operation with "total disregard" for the safety of their family.
Buhagiar was also involved in a fatal shooting more than a decade earlier. On Jan. 26, 2007, he and two other Specialist Team officers stopped at an Excelsior pizza place for food. The manager told them three men were causing problems and one might have a knife. Police said that as the officers took the men outside and began searching them, one man, Mario Vargas, ran and pulled a gun from his waistband. He pointed it at an officer and was shot after ignoring commands to drop it.
Buhagiar said he feared Vargas would kill his partner, Eric Chiang. "As he came up with the handgun pointed at Eric I drew my firearm," he said. "I immediately thought he was going to kill Eric and I fired at the suspect." Buhagiar and Chiang fired 19 rounds in total. Police found the shooting complied with policy, and prosecutors declined to file charges.
Chuck Rylant, a retired Southern California police officer and use-of-force expert, said most officers never fire their guns, but those involved in one shooting tend to fire again. He said the cause may have more to do with the danger of an officer's assignments than with decision-making. "It's more of a reflection of the type of environment they are working in and what types of situations they are getting involved in," Rylant said.
