*The family of Banko Brown, the transgender Black man shot dead by a security guard at a San Francisco Walgreens store, have lawyered up and is speaking out about the killing.
Brown’s attorney, John Burris, tells TMZ that the security guard, Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony, should face charges after last month’s incident. On the day Banko Brown was tragically killed, Anthony confronted him on suspicion of stealing candy. Surveillance footage from the store captured the moment a physical altercation ensued before Anthony fired the fatal shot.
The guard claimed he feared for his life. As CBS News reports, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins decided not to charge Anthony in the killing, which has sparked protests.
The Walgreens is currently shut down amid demonstrations calling for Anthony to held held accountable, TMZ reports.
A security guard gunned down a shoplifter at a Walgreens in San Francisco. The man in white T-shirt is a man named Banko Brown. He was first beating and mauled By the security guard then was fatally shot. Brown was unarmed & the guard repeatedly won’t be charged since he was… pic.twitter.com/1qFHz6PSvS
— Raphousetv (RHTV) (@raphousetv2) May 16, 2023
The district attorney could not establish the killing was anything other than self-defense, according to TMZ.
“We don’t know what’s happening with this District Attorney or why she keeps repeating lies. I believe it’s time for intervention from the state’s Attorney General and the Department of Justice to investigate what’s happening here,” District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston said, CBS Bay Area reports.
“Man, I’m so hurt. Like I can’t even like express like that feeling, just to even know my baby is gone,” said Banko’s father, Terry Brown, said about the death of his oldest child, NBC News Bay Area reports. “A kind person. Hard worker. A genuine person and a loving person. A caring person and an activist.”
Terry Brown confirmed his son was transgender and Banko manage to tell police where to find his father before he died.
“She said her name, told police her name and gave them my number. I knew it was her. I broke down,” said Terry Brown, CBS SF Bay Area reports. “It was the worst day of my life to hear that. I was screaming, yelling, ‘No, no! This can’t be true.'”
As NBC Bay Area reports, Anthony claims Banko repeatedly told him he had a knife, but no knife was found. Banko’s father has a theory about why his son was fatally shot.
“I think it’s because of the gender and what my son represented,” said Terry. “Why else would you beat a person like that that is not armed? or not carrying no gun – no gun – no weapon – no nothing! And then the way I heard he shot him – that’s like a lynching – a modern day lynching. For stealing! ‘I’m going to beat you and then I’m going to kill you.’ That’s how I look at it.”
Local leaders and community activists held a demonstration outside Jenkin’s office this week, demanding that Anthony be charged for shooting and killing Brown.
Burris intends to file a wrongful death civil suit against Walgreens, Anthony, and the security company he worked for, TMZ reports.
READ MORE: Suspects Arrested in Fatal Shooting of Chicago Police Officer Areanah Preston | Video
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