A homeless panhandler who was shot to death by San Francisco police Sunday after allegedly lunging at officers with a knife was identified today as 55-year-old Leonard Michael Cole.Cole died at San Francisco General Hospital at 6:25 p.m. Sunday, about three hours after a confrontation with police near Russian Hill, said the city medical examiner.
Police said someone complained about Cole panhandling on the median strip of Van Ness Avenue at Greenwich Street, prompting an officer to respond and attempt to cite Cole.
Cole ran east on Greenwich Street up a hill, and the officer called for backup. At Polk Street, police said, the officer and two colleagues who had pulled up in a marked squad car approached Cole, who turned toward them with a knife that had an 8-inch blade.
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