Officer Michael Mellone was the principal instigator in the killing of Luis Góngora Pat that took place on April 7, 2016. Within 28 seconds, he exited his patrol car and began shooting Luis who was simply sitting on the ground. Mellone shot 4 rifle bean bag rounds to Luis’s back as he crouched away and then was propelled to his feet by the hard projectiles. The accompanying Sgt. Steger then started shooting bullets, and Luis fell to the ground. Despite the lack of any threat at any moment, Michael Mellone then took out his firearm, and executed Luis with a shot to the head, the only fatal wound on Luis’s body per the Medical Examiner’s report.

In June 2019, the SF Examiner reported, based on records obtained through a AB1421 request, that Ofc. Mellone left the San Francisco Police Department on August 18th, 2018 just a day before SFPD’s Internal Affairs was set to hand down a historic suspension for Mellone’s violation of every SFPD rule in the book on use of force, when he fired two different lethal weapons that resulted in the killing of Luis Góngora Pat. Days later, on August 24th, he was working with the Antioch Police Department. According to San Francisco D.A. Boudin “…the timing makes very clear that the resignation was aimed at and was effective at avoiding accountability.”

In June, Antioch community members began protesting his hiring by Antioch PD, demanding that this killer cop be kept off their streets. Luis’s family and Justice4Luis joined their demand. We remain committed to making his killers accountable for the murder of Luis Góngora Pat.

On August 4th, 2020 six young activists took up a hunger strike because their demand for accountability was being ignored. See post on #6Forced2Strike. The hunger strikers were also motivated by new allegations from Antioch residents of abuse of force by Mellone.

Prior to joining the San Francisco Police Department, Michael Mellone was named in a 2011 civil rights case for excessive use of force during his first period of employment by Antioch Police Department.

Michael Mellone has moved back and forth, at least 7 times, between police departments in Oakland, Richmond, Antioch and San Francisco since 2002.

2002 Oakland—>
2003 Richmond—>
2005 Oakland —>
2006 Richmond—>
2010 Antioch—>
2012 San Francisco—>
2018 Antioch—>

Justice4Luis is looking into back records of misconduct for Mellone in those departments. If community members know of any misconduct, please write to us at justice4luis @ gmail.com

We will also be supporting that the California Senate reconsider passing SB 731 to decertify abusive police officers to end the reign of terror for people of color by keeping killers like Mellone on police forces.