SF officer commits suicide during police stop in Richmond

RICHMOND, Calif. (KGO) -- Officials confirmed Monday night that a nine-year veteran of the San Francisco Police Department shot and killed himself after Richmond police stopped him near Hilltop Mall.

At about 1:30 p.m., a Richmond police officer conducted a traffic stop in the Hilltop Mall parking lot near J.C. Penney, spokesman Lt. Felix Tan said.

After stopping the vehicle, the officer says he heard a gunshot and went back to patrol vehicle to ask for help.

Tan said officers weren't sure what happened because the windows of the suspect's vehicle were heavily tinted. Officers used beanbag rounds to break the windows of the vehicle and found the man dead inside.

Tan said police and the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office each have opened investigations into the death.

The man's name has not yet been released but the car the man was found in is registered to San Francisco police officer Antonio Cacatian.

Bay City News contributed to this report.