Banko Brown Shooting Video Sparks Fury Over No Charges Filed Against Guard

Protests grew in San Francisco after the city's district attorney said she isn't filing charges against the Walgreens security guard who fatally shot trans organizer Banko Brown.

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins on Monday released surveillance footage showing the April 27 shooting of Brown, a 24-year-old who wasn't armed, outside a downtown Walgreens.

Amid a public outcry, Jenkins released the footage and other documents that she said support her decision not to file charges against the guard, Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony.

She cited Anthony's claim to self-defense in an encounter that began over Brown's suspected shoplifting.

The release of the video, which doesn't have sound, did little to quell protests.

On Monday evening, a group gathered outside the Walgreens store before marching to City Hall. They called on Jenkins to resign, Anthony to be charged and for Walgreens and other stores to not have armed security.

"We saw the tapes, we're here to demand justice," one of the protesters, Nancy Robles, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

"It was horrific. I couldn't finish watching them. It showed someone basically walking away, finished the altercation, and someone basically decided it was time to end their life."

The footage shows Brown heading for the exit with a bag in his hand when he is blocked by Anthony.

Anthony appears to reach out an outstretched palm "as if to ask for something," Jenkins said in her report.

The pair start shoving each other, and Anthony takes several swings at Brown.

They struggle until Anthony pins Brown to the ground.

When Anthony lets Brown go, Brown picks up the bag and moves to leave the store.

He turns around and appears to take a step toward Anthony, who draws his firearm and shoots once, sending Brown falling back onto the ground.

Brown was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Anthony told police that he saw Brown take items from the store and told him to "just put the items back" as Brown approached the exit.

He said Brown refused to do so and became aggressive as he fought to keep the items.

Anthony said that during the struggle, he told Brown he would let him go if he calmed down, and that Brown kept threatening to stab him.

Police who later searched Brown's bag found Walgreen's merchandise and personal items, but no knife, according to the report.

Anthony said he let Brown go, but he drew his firearm and kept it pointed at the ground in case Brown attacked.

He said he fired when Brown advanced towards him, fearing he was going to be stabbed and he didn't realize Brown would just spit at him.

Two witnesses were quoted in the report saying they saw Brown spit at Anthony, one saying the "spit, flinch, and shot all seemed to happen at the same time," the report said.

In a statement, Jenkins said that even after seeking more evidence, there was nothing to refute the guard's claim of reasonable self-defense.

She urged people to review all the evidence, including witness and police reports.

"There will be a temptation, as human beings, to only view the video footage of this incident and nothing else," she said in a news conference.

"We are accustomed to seeing videos online, and that often is what captures our attention rather than going the extra step to look deeper."

Jenkins' decision was immediately met with pushback from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Aaron Peskin, the board's president, said he would ask California's attorney general and the U.S. Department of Justice to review the case.

Supervisors Shamann Walton, Hillary Ronen and Connie Chan said they would support that, according to The San Francisco Standard.

"This is not who we are. Stealing a bag of candy does not warrant the death penalty," Peskin told the newspaper. "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."

Brown worked as a community organizer for the Young Women's Freedom Center, a nonprofit that provides support for young women and trans youth.

"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," Julia Arroyo, the center's co-executive director, said in a statement provided to Newsweek.

"Young people, especially Black and trans youth who experience poverty, deserve love, care, and the resources they need to survive and thrive."

Arroyo added: "Banko deserved to live. He deserved to be protected and cherished. He deserved housing and to have his basic needs met. We must live with the sobering reality that he was killed for no other cause but $14. And that is devastating and alarming; globally, we're watching Black people die and expected to continue to go about our day. We are not okay. This is not okay."

Brown "was beloved by a big community," Arroyo wrote on a GoFundMe page.

"He was brilliant and made everyone laugh. Though he was shy, he made friends easily and connected deeply with others."

Arroyo added that he had struggled with housing instability for more than a decade.

"He worked tirelessly, making consistent calls for shelter and other basic needs," Arroyo wrote. "Still, instead of receiving the support he needed, at every turn, there were obstacles and endless hoops to jump through. He was criminalized and lost his life trying to survive."

In a statement to Newsweek, a Walgreens spokesperson said: "We are offering condolences to the victim's family during this difficult time. The safety of our patients, customers and team members is our top priority, and violence of any kind will not be tolerated in our stores."

Newsweek has contacted the Board of Supervisors and Jenkins' office for comment via email.

Update 5/16/23, 10:20 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with a statement from Young Women's Freedom Center's Julia Arroyo.

Update 5/16/23, 11 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with a statement from Walgreens.

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