In 2017, San Francisco police officer Kenneth Cha shot my son, Sean Moore. Sean was standing on the front steps of his home, unarmed and suffering a mental crisis when Officer Cha shot him. The police were called to Sean’s home because of a noise complaint that accused him of knocking on the wall. Even though I had called the police in the past for support with my son’s mental illness, the police who arrived on the scene denied knowing anything about his condition and proceeded to threaten him, beat him with batons, pepper spray him, and shoot him twice.

Sean was unarmed. He was in his own home. He wasn’t hurting anyone.

Sean’s death on Jan. 20, 2020, was the result of that 2017 gunshot wound, according to the Marin County coroner’s report, which listed it as a homicide.

My son did not deserve to die. He needed care, not violence. I lost him at the hands of the very people who are supposed to protect us.  

Although many online and in the media would paint my son as someone who was not worthy, I was proud of Sean. He attended Archbishop Riordan High School, a graduate of the class of 1992. He enrolled at Skyline College, graduating in 1994 with an associate of arts degree. He attended San Francisco State University, continuing his studies to obtain his degree.

He wasn’t perfect. He struggled with mental illness. But I believe he was criminalized due to those mental health needs.

I miss him every day.

When I heard the recent news that another Black man, Tyre Nichols, had been killed by police in Memphis, I felt the pain of his mother.

I know that pain. It is the pain of another life taken and another family shattered. But what shocked and angered me even more, was to hear San Francisco politicians making hollow calls for justice.

“What we all just watched from Memphis is beyond comprehension,” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins tweeted as news of the killing spread. “As a Black woman & member of law enforcement, I feel a greater obligation to treat people with dignity & respect in this role. What I witnessed was mob violence & abuse of power.”

“There must be accountability.”

Accountability. For five years that is what I have been fighting for. Yet the officer who killed my son hasn’t been held accountable and is still walking free. District Attorney Jenkins has thus far done little to change that.

I had a glimmer of hope that justice might be served when Officer Cha was charged with voluntary manslaughter and assault with a semi-automatic firearm in 2021. It was only the second instance of a homicide charge against an on-duty officer in San Francisco’s history. But the conviction with which Jenkins called for accountability in the Tyre Nichols case seems to be missing here in San Francisco.

Since Jenkins became the district attorney last year, I have received zero updates about the case and I am in the dark about whether she plans to pursue the charges filed in 2021. When she took office last year, Jenkins fired the attorney who had been working with me and keeping me updated on my son’s case. Now, I have no idea who, if anyone, from the District Attorney’s Office is working on this case.

As a victim, I feel disrespected and ignored.

Families who have lost loved ones at the hands of police are also victims of violence. We deserve basic respect, common courtesy and support. I have had none of that from Jenkins or her staff in charge of this case.

I’ve gone in person, month after month to each court date, only to learn that the case has been delayed again at the request of Officer Cha’s lawyers, without a single objection from the District Attorney’s Office.

As a candidate, Jenkins ran on a platform that said she would prioritize victims’ rights. Why isn’t she supporting our family? 

My son’s case isn’t the only one to languish; the case against the officer who shot Keita O’Neil has faced similar delays.

Not once has Jenkins nor the head of her Internal Investigations Bureau ever acknowledged my presence in court. I am 84 years old and have my own health struggles. I have accepted that my son is gone, but I am tired of waiting for the person who shot him to be brought to justice. I ask myself, will I see justice served in my lifetime? And whom does our justice system serve?

I worked as a nurse at San Francisco General Hospital for 40 years, making sure people were well taken care of while enduring what could be painful times in their lives. My husband was a Muni driver. We both served this city with love for many years. But San Francisco’s elected leaders are failing my family as victims of police violence.

As district attorney, Jenkins has the power to ensure that police are held accountable when they don’t treat people with dignity and respect. She needs to do that by putting the full weight of her office behind victims of police violence. 

Cleo Moore is the mother of Sean Moore.