Fallout from MLK, "Wave of criticism follows San Francisco DA's decision in Walgreens black tranny shooting"

San Francisco's DA is facing a wave of criticism and anger after 
she declined to press charges in the fatal shooting by a drug 
store security guard of a Black transgender man who was homeless.

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

San Francisco's district attorney is facing a fierce backlash 
after declining to press charges this week against the Walgreens 
drug store security guard who shot and killed a man who was 
shoplifting from the store. From KQED in San Francisco, Marisa 
Lagos has our story.

MARISA LAGOS, BYLINE: The April 27 killing of Banko Brown by 
security guard Michael Anthony immediately sparked outrage in 
San Francisco, a city where brazen shoplifting has become a 
political flashpoint amid a fentanyl crisis and a widening chasm 
between the wealthy and impoverished. Video released Monday by 
prosecutors shows Brown, a Black transgender man who was 
homeless, being confronted by Anthony as Brown tries to leave 
the store with stolen goods. Security video footage shows a 
nearly minute-long struggle during which Anthony, who's also 
Black, has Brown in a headlock and lays on top of him. Anthony 
eventually lets him go. But as Brown is leaving, he turns around 
on the threshold of the doorway and gestures toward Anthony. At 
that point, Anthony shoots Brown once. He was pronounced dead at 
a local hospital.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHN BURRIS: Outrageous, unconscionable act of violence on the 
part of the security officer. The facts from the video do not 
support the use of deadly force.

LAGOS: That's attorney John Burris, a civil rights lawyer 
representing Brown's family. He and other critics say Banko was 
not a threat and that the video shows Anthony, the security 
guard, as the aggressor. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, 
though, says the video, which has no audio, isn't the only 
relevant evidence.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BROOKE JENKINS: And that is why we must listen to the security 
guard's statement, the witness statements and everything else in 
order to look at the full picture of the incident.

LAGOS: Jenkins says she didn't believe prosecutors could prove a 
case against the security guard in court. Anthony told 
investigators that during the altercation, Brown said he had a 
knife and threatened to stab Anthony, though no weapon was 
found. And witnesses reported Brown spitting at Anthony and 
lunging back toward him as the shot was fired. Here's DA Jenkins.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JENKINS: And at this time, there is nothing to rebut his 
statements regarding the fact that he acted in self-defense.

LAGOS: Jenkins has been under pressure to release the video and 
other evidence in the case for weeks ever since announcing on 
May 1 that her office wouldn't charge Anthony. Following outcry, 
she reversed course and said charges were still under 
consideration. On Monday, she released a slew of evidence, 
including the security video, as she declined to file charges 
again. Instead of quelling criticism, though, that evidence 
seems to have raised more questions. County Supervisor Aaron 
Peskin is asking state and federal officials to investigate 
Brown's shooting.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

AARON PESKIN: This is not who we are. Stealing a bag of candy 
does not warrant what is, in essence, the death penalty. I don't 
think that the district attorney's behavior in this case is 
making San Francisco safer.

LAGOS: Jenkins was already a divisive figure in San Francisco. 
She was appointed DA by San Francisco's mayor after helping lead 
a heated recall campaign to oust her progressive predecessor. 
That campaign helped shaped a national narrative of San 
Francisco as a city where crime and open-air drug use are out of 
control. And Jenkins has received criticism in recent months for 
dismissing charges against police officers involved in on-duty 
shootings. But as San Francisco struggles to figure out how to 
rein in shoplifting, the repercussions of Brown's death could 
reach far beyond this case. Members of the transgender community 
here continue to express anger. Honey Mahogany, chair of the 
local Democratic Party, notes trans people are far more likely 
to be impoverished and homeless.

HONEY MAHOGANY: The reality is that this could have been any 
number of people. Every one of us has had a low point. And to 
think that, you know, in that moment of vulnerability and in 
that moment of trying to survive, that you could be shot dead.

LAGOS: For now, protests continue. And Burris, the Brown family 
attorney, plans to file suit against the security firm that 
employed Anthony and Walgreens. For NPR News, I'm Marisa Lagos 
in San Francisco.

The lesson here is, "DON'T STEAL".

https://www.npr.org/2023/05/17/1176756491/wave-of-criticism-
follows-san-francisco-das-decision-in-walgreens-shooting