Public Defenders tried to get the man into a Mental Health Diversion Program, but the District Attorney’s Office objected. Instead, the case went to trial where a jury fully acquitted him.
A San Francisco jury acquitted John Killops, 63, who was accused of making racist, verbal threats toward a woman at Dolores Park in February 2023. The incident was widely reported in the news at the time. Despite indications that Killops was in the midst of a mental health crisis, the District Attorney’s Office pursued a felony strike with a hate crime enhancement and objected to the defense’s attempt to get Killops into the court’s Mental Health Diversion (MHD) program. Deputy Public Defenders Bonnie Chan-Silen and Alejandra Ramirez Diaz took the case to trial and presented expert testimony that Killops was unaware of his actions at the time due to his mental health condition. The jury fully acquitted Killops on Aug.19.
“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 defense attorney 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 defense attorney Ramirez Diaz.
Public Defenders Tried to Get Him Help
Shortly after Killops was arrested, the court found him mentally incompetent to stand trial. He was temporarily sent to Napa State Hospital to receive mental health treatment until he was deemed competent enough to stand trial.
Killops’s defense team tried to get him into the court’s MHD program, but the District Attorney’s Office objected.
MHD is a rigorous, 1-2-year program where the person who is charged with a crime works with defense attorneys, prosecutors, the court, social workers, and community service providers to create an individualized treatment plan and track their progress. When the court determines that the person has successfully completed the program, the criminal charges can be dismissed.
Because Killops was not allowed to participate in MHD, the case went to trial. He was charged with making criminal threats (a felony strike) with hate crime enhancements, which could have increased his sentence by up to three years. The jury found him not guilty of the criminal threats charge so they did not have to make a finding on the hate crime enhancement.
Before Killops was released from custody, his defense team ensured that Jail Psychiatric Services connected him with a case worker so that he would have support with accessing 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 San Francisco 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, there has been a decline in diversion opportunities for both misdemeanor and felony cases under District Attorney Jenkins’s administration.
The defense team for Mr. Killops was led by Deputy Public Defenders Bonnie Chan-Silen and Alejandra Ramirez Diaz, Paralegal Julien Molina, and the Public Defender Investigation Unit.