San Francisco DA Declines To Prosecute Walgreens Security Guard For Fatally Shooting 24-Year-Old Suspected Shoplifter

According to ABC7 News, community members protested outside the Walgreens location following Jenkins’ decision Monday evening. The outlet reports that the protest then turned into a march that made its way up to San Francisco City Hall.

The outlet reports that protestors feel the security guard acted “inappropriately” and “wrongly,” although shoplifting is a crime, it should not have resulted in Banko Brown’s death.

One protestor spoke with the outlet and shared their reaction to Jenkin’s decision.

“The video was horrific… She’s claiming that it was self-defense — we saw the video. We know it’s not self-defense.”

Additionally, Brown’s family believes that his killer should be prosecuted.

The family’s attorney even shared an exclusive statement with KTVU FOX 2.

“People should protest about it. It should not go unnoticed that this person’s life was taken, what appears to be wrongfully. He was at all times trying to get away. He wasn’t trying to have a confrontation. And it’s kind of sad and tragic to see a kid killed over a minor thing. The overaggressiveness by the security guard was really, woefully unjustified.”

Protestors have reportedly scheduled another rally for Brown on May 23 at 5 p.m. in front of the San Francisco City Hall.

According to KTVU FOX 2, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins shared her decision not to press charges against security guard Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony on Monday, May 15.

Jenkins also participated in an exclusive interview with the outlet, detailing her decision.

“We do not believe there is sufficient evidence to overcome what we would expect his defense of self-defense to be. [Anthony] has specifically articulated to the police, more than once, the facts surrounding the incident and explained that he believed he was in imminent danger, and at this time we don’t believe there is anything to overcome those statements.”

Additionally, Jenkins explained that the law “does not require that somebody wait to exercise self-defense until there is a weapon coming towards them.”

“What it evaluates is whether your fear in that moment of imminent harm is reasonable. At this point in time, the facts are that somebody has decided to become violent and aggressive with [Anthony] in order to retain stolen property, violent to the point that he’s having to use physical force to restrain him.”

Furthermore, Jenkins acknowledges that although Banko Brown did not have a knife or weapon, Anthony’s fear of “imminent harm” was still “reasonable.”

“We have the benefit of hindsight, right now we understand that Banko Brown did not have a knife, didn’t have a weapon, but at that moment in time it’s about what the security guard perceived or believed and was that reasonable. And so based on the evidence and the law at this point, the law presumes [Anthony] was reasonable because there was an ongoing robbery at the time.”

Although Jenkins admittedly believes “someone shouldn’t be shot for shoplifting,” she stated that “was not an ordinary shoplifting.”

“I do not disagree that someone shouldn’t be shot for shoplifting, I share in those feelings. This was not an ordinary shoplifting, this wasn’t someone just walking out with an item. This is a shoplifting that became violent because Banko Brown initiated that aggressive contact with the security guard which turned this legally into a robbery… the facts are what they are and that is what we are limited to.”

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According to KTVU FOX 2, the altercation between Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony and Banko Brown occurred in a San Francisco Walgreen on April 27.

In surveillance footage, Anthony is seen attempting to stop Brown from exiting the store as Brown holds a blue bag.

At the doorway, Anthony can be seen unholstering his weapon and pointing it toward the grown as Brown reportedly makes a lunging motion toward him. Anthony then fired one shot toward Brown, which reportedly hit him in the chest and caused him to fall to the ground immediately.

According to the outlet, Brown died from the gunshot, and his body was found with no weapon.

Anthony’s employer, Kingdon’s Group Protective Services, reportedly changes its policy on how security guards should operate “sometimes daily.” However, on the day of the shooting, the employer reportedly had a “hands-on policy” that allowed guards to “actively work to retrieve or recover stolen items” once it was clear that a suspected shoplifter may leave the premises with them in tow.

“The guards were also allowed to request receipts for merchandise, but in any event they were to actively work to retrieve or recover any stolen items once it was clear that the individual who concealed the items intended to leave the store without paying.”

As The Shade Room previously reported, a similar shooting occurred in Nashville, Tennessee, in April when a Walgreens worker shot a pregnant woman eight times after he suspected she was shoplifting.

The woman and her baby survived the shooting, although she had to undergo three surgeries and an emergency C-section to deliver her baby.

According to Inside Edition, the Walgreens worker is no longer employed by the company. However, he was not arrested by Nashville police, and it remains unclear if the worker will be charged with the shooting.