- “In San Francisco’s jails, many of the people who are detained have a serious mental health condition, and yet, the District Attorney’s Office continues to block our clients from getting the help they need.” – Public Defender Mano Raju
By Vanguard Staff
SAN FRANCISCO – A San Francisco jury acquitted John Killops, 63, of a felony strike charge with a hate crime enhancement after finding he was in the midst of a mental health crisis at the time of the alleged incident in Dolores Park in February 2023.
Killops was accused of making racist, verbal threats toward a woman in the park, an incident that drew widespread media coverage. Despite signs of mental instability, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office pursued a felony strike charge and objected to the defense’s attempt to place him in the court’s Mental Health Diversion program.
Deputy Public Defenders Bonnie Chan-Silen and Alejandra Ramirez Diaz presented expert testimony at trial that Killops was unaware of his actions because of his mental health condition. On Aug. 19, the jury found him not guilty.
“The jury understood that Mr. Killops was not in a state of mind where he could be aware of his actions. It’s a shame that he had to spend nearly two years in jail when he could have spent that time getting mental health care and support through Mental Health Diversion,” said Chan-Silen.
“We empathize with the witnesses who were upset by some of the language he was using in that moment, and everyone—including Mr. Killops—agrees that it was inappropriate. However, he was not in the state of mind to know what he was saying,” said Ramirez Diaz.
Shortly after his arrest, the court found Killops mentally incompetent to stand trial and sent him to Napa State Hospital for treatment until he was deemed competent to proceed. His attorneys sought entry into the Mental Health Diversion program, but prosecutors objected.
The diversion program is a rigorous one- to two-year plan where individuals work with attorneys, prosecutors, the court, social workers, and community providers on a treatment plan. If completed successfully, the court can dismiss criminal charges.
Because Killops was denied entry, the case went to trial. He was charged with making criminal threats with hate crime enhancements, which could have increased his sentence by up to three years. The jury’s acquittal meant they did not have to rule on the hate crime enhancement.
Before his release, his defense team arranged for Jail Psychiatric Services to connect him with a case worker to help access services in the community.
“In San Francisco’s jails, many of the people who are detained have a serious mental health condition, and yet, the District Attorney’s Office continues to block our clients from getting the help they need,” said Public Defender Mano Raju. “Our public defenders did everything they could to try to get Mr. Killops on a positive path so that he could live safely in the community.”
As the San Francisco Chronicle reported earlier this year, diversion opportunities for both misdemeanor and felony cases have declined under District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’s administration.
The defense team included Chan-Silen, Ramirez Diaz, Paralegal Julien Molina, and the Public Defender Investigation Unit.
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