Killing of Suspected Shoplifter by Walgreens Guard ‘Reasonable,’ DA Says

Footage showing the final moments of Banko Brown, an accused shoplifter fatally shot in April by a Walgreens security guard in San Francisco, was released Monday as the DA announced the guard would not be charged.

While releasing the video Monday, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced that an investigation of the incident had concluded the guard, 33-year-old Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony, would not face criminal prosecution in Brown's death.

The video, shared on social media by local television stations, shows Brown and the security guard in an altercation near the store entrance after he accuses Brown of trying to shoplift. Captured April 27, the footage ends with Brown, 24, retreating from the store in reverse, and the guard raising a weapon in his direction.

According to Bay Area news station KRON, Anthony was arrested by San Francisco police on suspicion of homicide and released from jail a few days after the incident.

The Messenger contacted Walgreens for comment on the decision, but had not received a response.

While speaking at a press conference, Jenkins said Anthony claimed his life was in danger after Brown allegedly told him, "I'm going to stab you," multiple times.

"[It was] a reasonable, though in hindsight mistaken, belief that Brown posed an imminent threat of great bodily injury or death," Jenkins said.

One hundred fifty people met Monday at the Walgreens where Brown was killed to protest the decision, San Francisco outlet Mission Local reported.

According to The Guardian, Brown, who was transgender, was a community organizer who advocated for Black trans youth and struggled with homelessness before his death.

San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton told KRON he believed Brown was "executed."

"I have watched the video several times; Banko Brown was clearly walking backwards, after being thrown to the ground, punched, and abused by the security guard for several seconds," he said. "Banko walks backwards and is executed."