Homeless Man Slain by San Diego Police Is Identified
SAN DIEGO — The county medical examiner on Thursday identified the man shot to death Tuesday by San Diego police as William Anthony Miller, 42, of Maine.
Miller, who was homeless and known to merchants only as Moses, was killed by police after he allegedly refused their command to drop a three-foot tree branch and instead charged at officers. He was hit by seven bullets.
Miller was known to use the stick as a walking cane. When he hit two people on the head with it, police were called.
Miller carried no identification and had no local family. Authorities learned his name through fingerprint records.
The shooting has provoked protests and renewed calls for the City Council to review the Police Department’s use of deadly force. Mayor Susan Golding has set a council hearing on the issue for Feb. 22.
Police Lt. Ray Sigwalt said Miller had a criminal record that included drug convictions and had been taken to a county mental health facility in recent months for psychological problems.
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