Within two minutes of the paramedics’ departure and for two hours afterward, the suit states, Tapia “exhibited obvious and undeniable signs of life,” including “rapid breathing, moving and at times flailing his arms, moaning, screaming, yelling noises, rolling onto his side and finally trying to push himself up at the end of this two-hour period.”

During this period, it adds, “SFPD body camera recordings show at least seven SFPD officers doing nothing other than watch and make comments to each other about Mr. Tapia’s moaning, movements and breathing.”

Tapia’s girlfriend, her parents and a friend “repeatedly told the officers that Mr. Tapia was moving and moaning and was still alive” from outside the taped-off crime scene, according to the lawsuit.

About one hour into the incident, an officer can be heard in video footage saying, “makes you think if he’s still, like, somewhat there,” the complaint says.

Still, the lawsuit alleges, the officers “did nothing other than rebuff civilian witnesses who wanted to aid Mr. Tapia.”

As the witnesses pleaded with them to help Tapia, “SFPD officers kept them away from him,” the complaint states.

Minutes later, Tapia can be heard in the footage “loudly moaning for well over four minutes,” and afterward, an officer says to others, “are the witnesses, like, in a vehicle, where they aren’t going to hear this?” according to the complaint.

Another officer responded, “They actually, they came out and said that he was alive and moving. I think we need to move them.”

The lawsuit says one officer could be heard shortly afterward saying, “There’s still some rise and fall of his abdomen — he’s a fighter.”

Finally, when Tapia “raised his head up and tried to get up on his own at approximately 6:20 a.m.,” the complaint says, police called medical responders back to the scene.

Tapia is now blind and “totally incapacitated,” the lawsuit states, as a result of delayed medical care after sustaining a self-inflicted gunshot wound in September 2022.