San Francisco Police Misread License Plate and Violently Arrested Driver, Watchdog Says
The San Francisco public defender’s office is demanding accountability after a watchdog agency found two police officers used excessive force during a wrongful July 2024 arrest of a man they believed had stolen a car.
The man, Matthew Ludwig, was stopped at a traffic light in downtown San Francisco when Officer Vinesh Govindbhai smashed Ludwig’s driver’s side window with a baton, pulled him out of the car, pinned him down on the pavement and pepper-sprayed him in the face, according to a May 2025 complaint with the Department of Police Accountability.
“It was actually Mr. Ludwig who was trying to de-escalate the encounter,” said Brian Cox, integrity manager with the San Francisco public defender’s office, who analyzed the body camera footage of the incident and filed Ludwig’s claim with the DPA.
“He’s telling the cops, ‘Be cool.’ ‘Take it easy.’ But at each turn, it was the cops who escalated the situation,” Cox said.
In police reports, Govindbhai and Officer Jonathan Zepeda said they’d followed Ludwig’s Honda Accord for several miles because they believed it was stolen. Only later, after the officers handcuffed Ludwig, did they realize they had entered the wrong license plate number, which was for a Toyota, not a Honda, the agency found.
The SFPD declined to comment on the matter, citing ongoing litigation.
Footage shows Govindbhai opening the door and dragging Ludwig out by his hoodie as the driver protests.
After struggling to handcuff Ludwig, whose left hand was pinned under his body, Govindbhai said, “You’re about to get sprayed.”
He then pepper-sprayed Ludwig just inches from his face, a violation of department policy, which requires a minimum distance of 4.5 feet.
They referred Ludwig for charges of resisting arrest and impounded his car.
According to the public defender’s office, Ludwig couldn’t afford to pay the fee to get his car released, and it was auctioned off. He was also charged with resisting arrest.
The District Attorney’s office dropped the matter after Ludwig died in September 2025.
In March, the DPA report sustained allegations that the officers violated SFPD policy by conducting a traffic stop, using excessive force, pepper spraying Ludwig and issuing a citation — all without cause.
“ He was attacked and injured and ultimately charged and dragged through the criminal legal system,” Cox said, “because they got the license plate wrong.”
Cox called for the officers to be disciplined and for an audit of the policies and information used to determine whether a car is stolen. That information currently is a black box, he said.