South San Francisco man shot by police charged with assaulting, resisting officers

REDWOOD CITY — A South San Francisco man who was shot seven times by police in December and survived is facing multiple criminal charges for allegedly brandishing a knife at officers after they went to his home for a mental health crisis call, prosecutors said.

Luis Adrian Francisco Manzo has been charged with one count of assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon and four counts of resisting an officer with enhancements for use of a deadly weapon, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

Francisco Manzo, 28, appeared in court Friday to surrender on an arrest warrant, and was denied bail by San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey B. Jackson on the basis that he still poses a threat to public safety, prosecutors said.

He was shot on the morning of Dec. 8, after several officers from the South San Francisco Police Department responded to a call from Francisco Manzo’s relative, who said that he was threatening to harm himself and was armed with two knives. Authorities encountered Francisco Manzo in the hallway of the family’s home and claimed that he, after initially following officers’ instructions, pulled out a knife and walked toward the officers, asking “them to kill him.”

One officer fired his stun gun, but two officers then fired their guns as Francisco Manzo got closer, authorities and prosecutors said.

He was then transported to a trauma center in critical condition. At the time of the shooting, he was on probation for a 2023 conviction for possession of a firearm and drugs, according to prosecutors.

The police shooting remains under investigation by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office but is nearing completion, DA Stephen Wagstaffe said Monday. The investigation will determine if the actions of the officers — identified as Brendan Hart and Martin Corona — were justified.

“It’s a traumatic event when our police officers in this county are compelled to use their firearms on a person,” San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said. “I’m glad he survived. I’m glad the officers don’t have to deal with the fact that they killed anybody. I wish we never got these things.”

Jeff Wozniak, Francisco Manzo’s defense attorney, said his client was shot seven times, spent a month in the hospital undergoing multiple surgeries. Beyond his gunshot wounds, he suffered fractured bones in his face and a broken vertebrae in his back from falling forward during the incident, and has a foreign object left in his eye that may require another surgery, Wozniak said. He also is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder and opioid withdrawal syndrome.

“They shot him to kill him, which is clear,” Wozniak said. “He was shot in the neck, in the upper chest, in his armpit, in his stomach. And he’s very, very lucky to be alive.”

Wozniak said he’s concerned Francisco Manzo won’t receive sufficient medical care for his wounds while in county jail. Wozniak added that, as of Tuesday morning, bandages on Francisco Manzo’s still-open wounds, which are supposed to be changed twice daily, have not been changed since Friday. Nine scheduled medical appointments had to be canceled when he was taken into custody, the defense attorney said.

But, according to Wagstaffe, “he was fit to be booked into jail because our county jail won’t take anybody if they need extraordinary medical needs.”

Initial reports indicated that Francisco Manzo was under the influence of drugs, but Wozniak said his client was sober at the time of the shooting and was experiencing a mental health crisis. Two weeks prior, Francisco Manzo had started detoxing himself from opiates and was still experiencing symptoms of acute withdrawal syndrome and had not slept well, the attorney said.

On Dec. 5, three days before the shooting, Francisco Manzo called 911, then took himself to the hospital because he was feeling “not in his right mind,” but was turned away, Wozniak said.

The next day, a relative took him to a hospital for complaints of pain in his leg but was concerned that he was “very out of it and not making a lot of sense,” Wozniak said. The hospital treated him for the pain in his leg but discharged him without any mental health support, the attorney said. On Dec. 7, Francisco Manzo called 911 and asked to be taken to a detox center but was told he would have to arrange for that himself, Wozniak said.

“It’s just emblematic of the failure of our country and our communities to help people going through mental health crises,” Wozniak said. “There were three days before this happened where he was reaching out to resources through police, through (the hospital), and just being told that he had to take care of it himself. And after more days of not sleeping, he became suicidal.”

Wozniak added that he is planning to pursue mental health diversion for the case.

Francisco Manzo will next appear in court Feb. 20 for his arraignment and to enter a plea.

If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of depression or suicidal thoughts, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers free, round-the-clock support, information and resources for help. Call or text the lifeline at 988, or see the 988lifeline.org website, where chat is available.