SF DA Brooke Jenkins won't file charges in Banko Brown killing

The San Francisco District Attorney's Office, which also published footage of the killing and police reports on Monday, said there was "insufficient evidence" to press criminal charges after an investigation determined "Anthony acted in lawful self-defense when he fired his weapon at Brown." 

"Given the totality of the circumstances, including the threat that Anthony believed, and could reasonably believe, the evidence shows that Brown's shooting was not a criminal act because Anthony acted in lawful self-defense," the district attorney's office wrote in the report. "Thus, Anthony is not criminally liable for the death of Brown."

John Burris, the Oakland civil rights attorney representing Brown's family as they pursue a wrongful death lawsuit, told The Examiner that the "horrible, horrendous" video of Anthony shooting Brown had "no basis to use deadly force" in a shoplifting case, "particularly when it was the security guard who was the aggressor."

"And I think, under the circumstances, this was a situation where a security officer creates the confrontation as an aggressor and then ultimately he claims self-defense as he shoots himself out of it, which is wrong," Burris told The Examiner.

"I disagree with no charges being filed, and I think manslaughter charges clearly could be filed and should be filed."

Security footage from inside the Walgreens that prosecutors published on Monday shows Brown attempting to leave the 825 Market St. store with a bag.

Warning: The footage embedded below is graphic, and reader discretion is advised. 

Anthony told investigators he saw Brown "take and conceal" items within his bag that day. The security company contracted by Walgreens that employed Brown, Kingdom Group Protective Services, had recently directed guards to be "hands-on" in recovering stolen merchandise, according to prosecutors' report. 

In the video, Anthony attempts to stop Brown from leaving the store when Brown bumps into him. The two shove each other before Anthony swings his right arm at Brown multiple times. Brown stumbles over a display of products, with items from his bag strewn across the floor. 

As Brown attempts to get up, Anthony wrestles him to the ground, places him in a chokehold as he stands and then wrestles him to the ground again.

Anthony told investigators that Brown repeatedly threatened to stab him as they "wrestled" and after saying he would let Brown go if the 24-year-old "calmed down," although he didn't see Brown carrying a knife. Police didn't find a knife in Brown's possession. 

As Brown gathers his belongings, Anthony removes his gun from his holster. With Brown standing in the front walkway of the Walgreens, Anthony walks toward him. Anthony told investigators that he tried "to create distance" from Brown. 

Brown then flares his shoulders forward before Anthony shoots him. According to prosecutors, Anthony said he felt Brown's spit hit his face after shooting Brown, and that fired his weapon "out of fear of Brown's intentions" after "Brown advanced towards him." 

"I felt like I was in danger," Anthony told police. "I felt like I was going to be stabbed, and I didn't know what to expect after the hostility."

The San Francisco District Attorney's Office wrote in its report that footage showed "Brown turning back and making a lunging motion in Anthony's direction" as he stood in the doorway. Burris, the Brown family's attorney, didn't think that was a fair characterization.

"Even if he had lunged and made any kind of move, which I don't see, that in and of itself does not justify the use of deadly force," Burris said. "You can't use more force than you're being confronted with. If a person has nothing in their hands, and they're carrying a package, and you have a gun, well, you can't then use deadly force against that person."

Brown, a transgender Black man, was a volunteer at the Young Women's Freedom Center in The City at the time of his passing. The center said after Brown's death last month that he had struggled to find housing for more than a decade. 

The Young Women's Freedom Center said on Monday that "(we) do not need to see the video to know that Banko Brown's killing was unjustified."

"Banko deserved to live. He deserved to be protected and cherished. He deserved housing and to have his basic needs met," Julia Arroyo, the center's executive director, said in a statement to The Examiner. 

Brown's friends, family and a number of residents called upon Jenkins to reconsider her initial decision not to file charges against Anthony. Jenkins later chalked up that decision to a charging deadline. 

The Board of Supervisors formally asked Jenkins to release footage of the killing last week. Its vote followed a second consecutive meeting featuring emotional public comment from people who demanded justice for Brown. Before the vote, Jenkins committed to releasing a full report if her office opted not to file charges. 

Aaron Peskin, the board's president and a co-sponsor on last week's resolution, said in a statement that he would introduce legislation this week calling upon the California Attorney General or the U.S. Department of Justice to review evidence in Brown's killing. 

"This is not who we are," Peskin said. "Stealing a bag of candy does not warrant the death penalty. I understand people are afraid of crime, a fear being stoked by too many politicians and their political allies. But this is not a choice between justice and safety — we can have both. And allowing what appears, at a minimum, to be an unjustified shooting does not make us safer. It does not make us better. It should make us ashamed."

Supervisor Shamann Walton said he would join Peskin in calling for a state or federal review. Supervisor Dean Preston, who said last week that he would draft legislation to limit security guards' use of guns, quickly rebuked Jenkins' decision not to pursue charges.

"I am horrified by this video which appears to show Banko Brown being executed for shoplifting," Preston said in a statement. "I do not understand how the District Attorney could have reviewed this video and concluded that the guard 'believed he was in mortal danger and acted in self defense."