Group of SF Lawmakers Seek State, Federal Intervention in Banko Brown Killing, After District Attorney Declines to Prosecute

San Francisco supervisors called on state Attorney General Rob Bonta and the U.S. Department of Justice to step in and review the fatal shooting of Banko Brown.

On Tuesday, lawmakers said San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins deprived communities of needed justice when she decided not to press charges against a security guard who shot and killed Brown, a 24-year-old Black transgender man.

Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin introduced the nonbinding resolution requesting state and federal intervention after seeing the video Jenkins released of Brown’s death on Monday. He likened it to a public execution.

“It’s very disturbing. We’ve learned in modern times about deescalation [tactics used by law enforcement], about time and distance. And none of that appears in this video. The guard clearly has the upper hand in the physical altercation, punches Banko Brown, is able to wrestle Banko down to the ground. Never seems in danger at any point. It’s pretty horrific,” Peskin told KQED.

When reached for comment, the attorney general’s office said, “As of right now, our office is not currently involved in the matter. We suggest you reach out to the San Francisco DA’s office on the case.”

San Francisco Mayor London Breed supported Jenkins’ charging decision, she told reporters on Tuesday, but added, “I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with welcoming our California attorney general or anyone else to review the case and make a determination.”

The supervisors are expected to vote on the resolution next week.

Brown was allegedly shoplifting when he was shot and killed by security guard Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony in late April. On May 1, Jenkins issued a statement strongly asserting the security guard was acting in self-defense.

Black and transgender communities and their allies called foul on Jenkins’ assurances without public release of surveillance video showing the shooting. Last week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on a resolution calling on her to release video footage and other evidence.

On Monday, Jenkins did so, arguing that a police interview with the security guard (PDF), wherein he claims Brown said, “I’m gonna stab you,” would make it difficult to convince a jury that he did not shoot out of self-defense.

That same evening, a group of community members gathered outside the Market Street Walgreens where Brown was shot to protest Jenkins’ decision to not file charges. Many argued that the released video clearly showed Brown backing away from the security guard when he was shot.

San Francisco Democratic Party chair Honey Mahogany, who is also Black and transgender, attended Monday night’s rally.

“I think people were feeling both anger and anguish. I mean, this is a tragic situation. I certainly was feeling emotional about it, seeing somebody lose their life that way,” Mahogany said. “I think people are extremely frustrated with the district attorney’s decision. A lot of people feel as though, you know, she really fumbled this entire case from the very beginning.”

State Sen. Scott Wiener issued a statement Tuesday and said he watched the video repeatedly, but “cannot see a justification for this shooting” and added that “a lack of any criminal responsibility for this shooting makes no sense to me.”

But Wiener also touched on Brown’s precarious living conditions.

“What makes this shooting particularly tragic is that it was preventable even before Banko Brown set foot in Walgreens. Nearly half of homeless youth are LGBTQ, and LGBTQ young people are also over-represented in the criminal justice system,” he said. “Trans young people are even more disproportionately impacted. The horrific political attacks on trans young people around the country only make the problem worse.”

Brown lived in and out of homelessness and grew up in the foster care system, and his friends and family said he was experiencing poverty when he allegedly stole candy and drinks from the Market Street Walgreens the day of his death.

Of the 1,073 homeless youth surveyed in the city’s 2022 homeless point-in-time count (PDF), roughly 38% identified as members of the LGBTQ+ community. Youth respondents under age 25 were more likely than adults to identify as transgender.

When asked to respond to community allegations that she made the wrong call to not charge the security guard, Jenkins said she cannot base prosecutions on community outrage.

“Any time you have a particular shooting or a killing, people are emotional, and they should be. A life was lost here. That spawns grief. It spawns emotion. It spawns a reaction that is normal, it is human. And I understand that. And it’s a part of the nature of the work that we do here in the DA’s office. What I cannot do, however, is base my decisions on that emotion,” she said.

Those same communities made their voices heard at San Francisco City Hall on Tuesday as Peskin introduced his resolution.

One person making public comment at the City Hall meeting, but who declined to give their name to KQED, identified themselves as a brown transgender woman who has faced danger for her identity — including from a security guard.

“During my time in this city, I’ve been beat, been assaulted. I’ve had knives pulled on me. I’ve had people just treat me like trash. I’ve had security guards treat me like garbage. I’ve had bouncers physically pushing me out of places because of, because of who I am,” she said. “With this resolution, all we are asking for is just a morsel of justice. Not just for Banko, but for all of us who have to face living in the city with this threat of violence.”

Joshua Bell, 34, spoke at the Board of Supervisors meeting and said they’re from the queer community and have lived in San Francisco for seven years, but feels their community isn’t protected in San Francisco.

“As a queer man in District 5, how am I to feel safe after the murder of Banko Brown, a homeless trans Black man, that took place three blocks from my apartment?” Bell said.

“Banko Brown deserved to live,” said Julia Thompson, 22, a San Francisco resident and friend of Brown’s who testified before the board. “We must live with the sobering reality that he was killed for no other cause but $14. Globally we are watching Black people die and are expected to go on with our day. We are not OK.”

While a growing number of supervisors are urging state or federal entities to step in, retired Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge LaDoris Cordell told KQED she thinks a U.S. Department of Justice intervention is unlikely, due to a hesitancy to counteract local district attorney charging decisions.

Public outcry around the charging decision may prompt the state Attorney General’s Office to do so, however, Cordell speculated.

“The state attorney’s office tends to get involved when cases are high profile and also where there is a lot of public uproar. So this case fits both of those,” Cordell said. “It is my view that it’s likely Bonta’s office, the state justice department, might want to take a look at it, and might do that and make a decision about whether or not to prosecute.”

The video itself, Cordell said, “is very compelling,” and, in contrast to Jenkins’ office, she believes a jury may agree.

KQED reporter Christopher Alam contributed to this report.