Anger as security guard avoids charges despite video showing him shooting dead transgender activist
District attorney refuses to file charges against security guard accused of killing Banko Brown
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
The San Francisco district attorney has released surveillance footage showing the fatal shooting of a 24-year-old transgender activist accused of shoplifting by a Walgreens security guard.
The video was released on Monday following a public outcry after it was announced that the district attorney won't file charges against the guard, identified as Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony.
The footage shows the guard assaulting unarmed Banko Brown on 27 April before fatally shooting him outside a downtown Walgreens.
Brown was a budding community organiser known for helping Black transgender youth and reportedly struggled with homelessness.
Last week, the board of supervisors unanimously approved a resolution urging district attorney Brooke Jenkins's office to release more evidence. She cited self-defence in her decision not to charge the guard.
The video, which does not have sound, shows Brown heading for the door with a bag in his hand when he is intercepted by the guard. He then pushes and repeatedly punches Brown in the head before pinning him to the ground.
The scuffle continues when after a point, the guard lifts Brown into the air.
When Mr Anthony lets Brown go, he picks up the bag and moves to exit the store. He turns around and appears to step toward Mr Anthony, at which point the guard lifts his gun and shoots once, sending Brown falling back onto the ground.
Mr Anthony, who was initially arrested and later released, told the police that he asked Brown to put the items back, but Brown was aggressive and fought to keep them.
He said he told Brown he would let him go if he calmed down, and that Brown kept saying he was going to stab him. However, a knife was not found on Brown.
Mr Anthony argued that he let Brown go, but he drew his gun and kept it pointed at the ground just in case Brown attacked. He said he shot when Brown advanced.
The case was discharged by the district attorney on 1 May.
The guard in interviews also misgendered Brown, referring to him as “she” and “her”.
San Francisco supervisor Shamann Walton said in a statement that the video does not show justification for the shooting. Mr Walton said he plans to join board president Aaron Peskin in calling on the state attorney general for an independent review of the prosecutor’s decision.
But Ms Jenkins, who has been criticised for handling the case, said that even after seeking more evidence, there was nothing to rebut the guard’s claim of self-defense. She pleaded with viewers to review all the evidence, including witness and police reports, given that the video footage lacks sound.
"There will be a temptation, as human beings, to only view the video footage of this incident and nothing else," Ms Jenkins said. "We are accustomed to seeing videos online, and that often is what captures our attention rather than going the extra step to look deeper."
Community members on Monday afternoon gathered outside Walgreens to protest against Ms Jenkins's decision to not file charges.
Activists, politicians and others who reviewed the released footage of Brown’s death alleged that the video proves the security guard did not act in self-defence as suggested by the district attorney.
Demonstrators with banners that read ”Justice for Banko Brown” demanded that Ms Jenkins press charges against the guard.
"I was sad, but now I'm mad. I'm so mad. He was on the way to the centre the day he died," Tumani Drew, a friend of Brown's, told The San Francisco Standard.
"All we know is that Banko was leaving the store. Anthony had no right to take his life."
Brown worked as a community organiser for the Young Women’s Freedom Center – a nonprofit that provides support for young women and trans youths.
"We do not need to see the video to know that Banko Brown’s killing was unjustified. Armed force is not a justified response to poverty,” said Julia Arroyo, the centre’s co-executive director.
"We must live with the sobering reality that he was killed for no other cause but $14."