Five months ago today, 28-year-old Alejandro Nieto was gunned down by police as he ate a sandwich in the San Francisco neighborhood of Bernal Heights. His murder left the city shocked as angered residents demanded justice, which they have yet to see.

The events unfolding over the last 12 days in Ferguson, Mo., have rekindled that devastating moment for Nieto's family, friends and city residents who say they understand the pain and anger fomenting in the St. Louis suburb after a police officer shot to death unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown.

To commemorate Nieto's March killing, organizers from Justice for Alex Nieto have announced a sunset and sunrise vigil in his honor this Thursday evening at 7 p.m. and Friday morning at 5 a.m. Nieto's family will host the event, which will be followed by a March for Civil Rights and Against Police Killings starting at noon on Friday at the Alex Nieto Memorial on Bernal Heights Park ring road.

Since the Aug. 9 killing of Brown in Ferguson, posters of Alex Nieto Rises have sprouted up across San Francisco as residents observe protesters taking to the streets for a similarly unpunished police killing in Missouri.

Ramon Hernandez, a 29-year-old resident of the Mission district, told Occupy.com that he'd known Nieto for years and although the two weren't close, the killing of Brown has forced him to remember what San Francisco police did to Nieto.

"I am so angry right now," said Hernandez. "This is happening all over the country: more and more white police officers are killing black and brown kids and getting away with it. I understand the anger. I know that we, as minorities, have little voice and often violence is the only way for us to be heard."

Hernandez said if Nieto had been killed in another city, there could have been massive protests. But this is San Francisco. And the new San Francisco, he argues, is not Ferguson.

"We are seeing more and more rich white tech workers taking up our homes, spending more money and at the same time not demanding justice for their fellow citizens," he continued. "For them, this is just an inconvenience. For us, as brown people, this is our daily life."

The March 21 killing of Nieto led to controversy, parallel to the kind sparked in Missouri, when local authorities attempted to tarnish Nieto's reputation, portraying Nieto as unstable and violent – factors that precipitated police officers feeling threatened, which caused them to open fire.

But those close to Nieto, a practicing Buddhist, know differently. The more than 14 bullets fired at him still do not add up.

San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr argued that the officers who shot Nieto had "fired in defense of their lives." The police account, however, was confusing. Officers claimed they responded with numerous shots at Nieto after the Latino man allegedly reached for his holster, which carried a well-marked taser. Nieto was in possession of the taser due to his job as a security guard at a local bar and nightclub.

Jerold Best, a 34-year-old African American resident of San Francisco's predominantly black Bayview neighborhood, believes that if Nieto or Brown were white, the police would not have felt "threatened."

"Police are trained to be threatened by minorities. Simply by being black or brown you are a threat, so any action we take is seen by a white police officer as a threat. If Nieto or Brown were white, the situations would not have even started in the first place," Best said.

As the Nieto family continues to attempt piecing back together their lives, they will welcome the protest against police killings scheduled for Friday – which is expected to attract large numbers of San Francisco demonstrators outraged not only by Nieto's killing but by the militarized police forces being deployed against protesters on the streets of Ferguson.

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Meanwhile, Karina Ioffee and Kristin Bender reported for the Oakland Tribune that hundreds marched Wednesday against police brutality in Oakland, chanting "Hands Up, Don't Shoot!" in solidarity with Ferguson:

More than 200 protesters rallied peacefully against police violence Wednesday afternoon, but were stymied in an attempt to march on Oakland police headquarters when they were stopped by a line of officers a block away from the building.

The protests Wednesday – which started at Frank Ogawa Plaza, the Oakland main library, the African American History Museum and Jack London Square – were held in solidarity with protests in Ferguson, Mo. where an unarmed black man, Michael Brown, 18, was shot at least six times by a white police officer on Aug. 9. In the wake of the shooting, police attempts to deal with angry protesters have come under nationwide scrutiny.

"I'm the mother of a 19-year-old black boy so it's a personal thing for me," said Oakland resident Richelle Scales, 43. "I'm out here to protest police brutality since black men have much more contact with police and that's directly tied to lack of economic opportunity, lack of job training and the schools-to-prison pipeline."

A crowd of more than 100 gathered at Ogawa Plaza around 5 p.m. Wednesday, with several speakers calling for an end to police violence before the group started marching toward Oakland police headquarters, chanting "Hands up, don't shoot!" Around 5:40 p.m., several of the groups coming from different locations were met by police lines, blocking them from getting closer to the building.

An impromptu rally broke at on Broadway at Seventh Street, with about 200 people watching performances by poets, singers and others speaking in support of the cause. Drummers played along as the crowd chanted, "Whose streets? Our streets!"

Erika Whitmore, 27, a mother of two, said she thought that more police should wear cameras on their uniforms, which would make them more accountable in the event of violence.

"I don't want my son to fear that if you wear a hoodie or your pants are too low, or if you get angry, you will be immediately profiled and shot," Whitmore said. "And that's what they are doing now. They are shooting to kill."

The crowd eventually returned to Frank Ogawa Plaza, where relatives who were shot and killed, either by police or in street crime incidents, spoke to the crowd.

"This is terrorism in America," said Cindy Williams, whose brother, Mario Romero, was shot and killed by Vallejo police in 2012. "It is important for us to stand up. When you see something, say something. They want you to be afraid. My brother is no longer here but I am fighting for everybody."

Oakland mayoral candidate Dan Siegel also spoke, saying: "We need to be in the streets right now. Ferguson, Missouri is a wake-up call for the United States, and it's a wake-up call for Oakland. What went down 10 days ago in Ferguson could happen anywhere."

By 8 p.m., more than 100 people had returned to Frank Ogawa Plaza, where they broke into groups to talk about how to effect change. Police said no one had been arrested, cited or injured during the march and rally.

Wednesday's protest came just a few days after another march against police violence had about 200 people moving through downtown, with a smaller group marching all the way up Telegraph Avenue into Berkeley. Two people were arrested during that march Friday night and an Oakland police officer was pepper-sprayed.

Another peaceful rally drew about 500 people to Frank Ogawa Plaza last Thursday, with numerous speakers challenging police violence.

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