The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office released surveillance footage on Monday showing the moment a Walgreens security guard shot and killed a transgender black man suspected of shoplifting.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins released the video footage to justify her decision not to press charges against Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony, the security guard. She asserted that he acted in self-defense during the shooting of 24-year-old Banko Brown on April 27.
In the surveillance footage, Anthony prevents Brown from leaving the store with a bag of items and punches him repeatedly. After a brief scuffle, Anthony puts Brown in a chokehold and brings him down to the ground. They remain there for a short time while bystanders pass by. Finally, Anthony releases Brown, and the suspected shoplifter picks up his bag and moves toward the door. However, as Brown leaves, he turns around and seems to make a sudden motion toward Anthony, prompting the guard to draw his gun and fire a single shot.
Anthony claimed that he had instructed Brown to return the items and that Brown was the aggressor, fighting to keep the stolen goods. He also told police that Brown threatened to stab him after he told him to calm down. Anthony said he released Brown but drew his gun in case Brown lunged at him. He insisted that he shot Brown when the suspect charged toward him, realizing too late that Brown had merely spat at him.
Jenkins defended her decision not to prosecute Anthony, stating there was no evidence to refute his claim of self-defense.
However, critics of Jenkins’ decision continue to voice their disapproval. Supervisor Shamann Walton referred to the incident as an “execution.” The Young Women’s Freedom Center, the non-profit organization where Brown worked, argued that “armed force” is not an acceptable response to poverty, stating that the shooting was unjustifiable.
Protests have broken out in San Francisco and spread through California since the incident. Activists are demanding prosecution of the security guard for his killing of the young black transgender man.
