Security guard Michael Anthony carried a .40-caliber Glock on his last shift at the Walgreens near San Francisco's Union Square, under fresh orders to crack down on shoplifters. As part of a stepped-up security push, the 33-year-old guard was told to retrieve stolen goods. An eruption of petty thievery chain stores in U.S. cities nationwide had cut into revenue and put scores of household items—from toothpaste to deodorant—under lock and key, the Wall Street Journal reports. On April 27 last year, Anthony saw a man in sweatpants and a T-shirt grab something from a shelf and slip it into a bag. After Anthony asked the man to hand over whatever he took, the man tried to push past Anthony. They wrestled and tumbled to the ground, where Anthony put him in a headlock. After Anthony released him, the man backed out of the store, swearing and spitting. Anthony shot him once in the chest. The bullet killed Banko Brown—a Black, transgender 24-year-old. He had $14.64 worth of store candy and an empty Sprite bottle in his bag.
Police arrested Anthony, who told homicide investigators that Brown had threatened to stab him as they wrestled. None of the witnesses said they heard Brown threaten to stab Anthony. The police didn’t find a knife. Anthony was in custody for several days while prosecutors weighed whether to charge him. The decision about Brown’s homicide—was it murder or self-defense?—rested with San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, a career prosecutor. Jenkins met with Brown’s family at the District Attorney’s office on the same day Anthony was released from custody. Jenkins informed the family that she would not file charges in the case, as the evidence indicated the shooting was not a criminal act and that Anthony had acted in self-defense. After Brown’s killing, Anthony’s employer, Kingdom Group Protective Services, a California-based private security firm, lost its Walgreens contract and laid off the guards who worked at the stores. The firm returned to a hands-off policy toward shoplifters and prohibited its guards from carrying firearms.
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