Banko Brown case: AG's Office to review SF District Attorney decision not to file charges
SAN FRANCISCO -- The decision by San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins not to file charges against a security guard in the killing of suspected shoplifter Banko Brown will get a review from California Attorney General Rob Bonta, his office announced Tuesday.
The attorney general's office said it would review whether the Jenkins' decision not to file charges was an abuse of discretion.
Jenkins said in a statement she welcomed the Attorney General's review and would assist and cooperate as needed.
"I heard the public's concerns and we released a comprehensive analysis and report that included investigative records, witness statements and video evidence, so the public could see all of the facts and details and understand how we arrived at our decision," Jenkins said in a statement to CBS News San Francisco. "We provided the highest degree of transparency possible that we could with this case."
Brown was fatally shot during an physical altercation with armed security guard Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony who said he was trying to stop Brown from shoplifting. The April 27 killing over alleged stolen property provoked an outcry and generated protests in the city while stoking the debate over how the city is responding to retail theft.
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John Burris, an Oakland civil rights attorney hired by Brown's family, said he's planning to file a state lawsuit on Friday against Walgreens, Anthony, and the security company who hired Anthony.
The best outcome of Bonta's inquiry would be filed charges for manslaughter or murder, Burris said. He said there hasn't been a history of the attorney general doing that in the past, but "this is the one case where it should happen."
"This young man was unarmed, backing away, and the officer was in a position of safety. He was the aggressive one, he had the weapon," Burris said. "There's no justification for him not being charged."
Bonta's announcement coincided with San Francisco supervisors passing a resolution on Tuesday that urged state and federal officials to look into the district attorney's decision.
Supervisors previously attempted to hold Jenkins accountable for her actions in the case -- like Supervisor Shamann Walton requesting for Jenkins to release the surveillance video of the shooting. Supervisor Dean Preston also drafted legislation to ban security guards from carrying firearms.
Jenkins initially shot down Walton's letter of inquiry for publicly releasing the video footage, stating that doing so would "compromise" the case, until she did so a few days later after police reportedly gathered additional evidence.
Bonta previously looked into Jenkins' actions in February, when he reviewed her decision to drop charges against a former police officer in the fatal shooting of Keita O'Neil. Bonta said last week he would not take over the case.
On Thursday, Brown's family will hold a funeral service for Brown at Third Baptist Church in San Francisco at 11 a.m.
