Video shows Banko Brown shooting; DA won’t file charges
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A security guard who confronted and killed a suspected shoplifter at a San Francisco Walgreens fired a single shot as the man stepped backward onto the sidewalk, moments after he turned and made a slight movement toward the guard, newly released surveillance video shows.
The video is a key piece of evidence underpinning District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ decision not to prosecute the guard for the April 27 shooting that stoked protests and and roiled an already tense debate about criminal justice and the lengths to which merchants should go to quell retail theft. Jenkins citied the guard's claim to self-defense in a violent encounter that began over Banko Brown’s suspected shoplifting.
Now Playing: Surveillance footage showing the altercation between Walgreens security guard Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony and Banko Brown that preceded Anthony fatally shooting Brown. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said she will not charge Anthony with a crime. The Chronicle flipped the video for clarity. Video: San Francisco District Attorney’s Office
In a report published Monday, Jenkins laid out her decision declining to file charges against Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony for killing Brown, an incident that quickly escalated after Anthony intercepted Brown in the store’s entryway.
Jenkins’ report includes footage of the ensuing scuffle, the shooting and bystanders gathering as Brown lay on the pavement at 825 Market St.; body-worn camera video of medics attempting life-saving measures on Brown; and video of Anthony being interviewed by homicide detectives.
Anthony accused Brown of stealing merchandise, prompting the two men to tussle. The security guard drew his gun as they broke apart, telling investigators later that Brown had threatened to stab him as they fought — words that witnesses could not corroborate, records show.
Brown retreated toward the exit, but appeared to square his body toward Anthony near the doorway and move slightly toward the guard, moving his right foot forward. He had taken a couple backward steps when Anthony fired, striking Brown in the chest.
As law enforcement pursued the investigation, friends and supporters of Brown organized protests, casting doubt on Anthony’s self-defense claim and pressuring Jenkins to charge him with homicide.
Supervisor Dean Preston introduced legislation to restrict when security guards can use guns, and state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco called for video and witness statements to be released to the public.
Now Playing: A compilation of videos taken by bystanders in the aftermath of Banko Brown’s shooting in San Francisco, Calif. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said she will not file charges against the security guard who shot and killed Brown, Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony. Video: San Francisco District Attorney’s Office
“The way that this incident played out went from simply taking something, to violence being used to take it, and someone in that moment … articulating that they needed to use self-defense,” Jenkins said in an interview.
A store camera captured the critical seconds in which the scuffle unfolded. Brown, carrying a bag, strides toward the Walgreens exit. Anthony steps toward him with an outstretched palm, “as if to ask for something,” the district attorney said in her report.
The two men begin shoving each other and Anthony takes multiple swings at Brown, then wrestles him to the floor as Brown resists and struggles to extricate himself.
In the video, Anthony holds Brown down on his stomach for about 20 seconds before letting go. Brown stands up and retrieves his bag as Anthony draws his gun but points it down, according to the report.
Brown steps backward out of the store, facing Anthony, and appears to be leaning forward with fists clenched at his sides when Anthony points his gun and shoots. Jenkins describes this stance as “a lunging motion in Anthony’s direction.”
Two witnesses quoted in the report said they saw Brown spit at Anthony, with one saying the “spit, flinch, and shot all seemed to happen at the same time,” the report said.
“I’ve labored over the entire case, and the entire decision,” Jenkins said, noting that her analysis had to focus on what Anthony perceived during the altercation, and whether he saw an imminent, reasonable threat of death or great bodily injury.
“When you listen to his statement, he provides a great deal of substance as to what he was perceiving and why he believed that he was in imminent danger,” Jenkins said, referring to a statement Anthony gave to police after his arrest.
During a three hour interrogation with homicide inspectors from just after midnight to 3 a.m. on April 28, Anthony said he commanded that Brown return items to store shelves, but that Brown became combative and threatened to stab Anthony as the two wrestled.
Police who searched the scene and seized Brown’s bag on April 27 found merchandise from Walgreens and possessions belonging to Brown, the report said, but no knife.
Anthony said that on the day of the incident his employer, Kingdom Group Protective Services, had instructed guards to engage in “hands on” recovery of stolen merchandise once it was clear that someone intended to leave the store without paying, according to the district attorney’s report.
Reach Rachel Swan: rswan@sfchronicle.com
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
