A bicycle delivery worker was fulfilling a Postmates order for a burrito in SoMa when he tells CBS SF he was stopped by SFPD officers who went on to brutally beat and mace him, landing him in the hospital.
Donovan Reid, a 22-year-old black man, says police stopped him for using his phone. He maintains he was navigating rather than texting or calling. Asked for his ID in a snippet of video he recorded, Reid cannot produce any. As an article lifted from Bicycling magazine explains, in certain situations cyclists do need to present identification if it's requested by police or else risk being taken into custody.
Reid records this conversation and the aggressive tone of officers, but then his phone is off, and there's a break in the timeline of footage.
Bystanders pick up minutes later, recording disturbing footage of Reid screaming in agony. He says officers told him to "stop resisting" and hit his legs in particular, sending him to the hospital. He also received two citations.
On a GoFundMe page from which Reid hopes to gather funds for legal counsel and medical expenses, the cyclist elaborates on his experience.
I was riding my bike in sf doing deliveries for a company called Postmates when an officer pulled his cruiser in front of me and told me to pull over. I complied. He then stated that he is pulling me over for being on my phone texting while biking. I said I'm being safe and I'm only using navigation, not texting.
The officer told me to drop my phone (I started recording after he told me to pull over) and then grabbed my shirt collar and started punching me in my stomach. I noted that this was excessive force and the officer continued to punch me in my stomach. He reached for his mace and impaired my vision and then began grabbing me by my neck and slamming me to the ground, placing his knee on my back.
Later, more officers came and began holding my legs in the air and beating my legs, while telling me to stop resisting and keep my legs on the ground. I told him I couldn't do that because someone is beating my legs and holding my legs in the air.
Afterwards I went to the hospital and got two citations and my courier gear (1 bicycle) is in police holding.
Currently raising money so I can afford legal representation. This is a stressful and painful life event that no one should have to ever go through, I'm very happy to be still alive. I will use the donations accordingly to pay for counseling sessions and court fees.
The SFPD's Internal Affairs Division is reportedly investigating the incident, with the Office of Citizen Complaints notified.
Reid, who says he feared for his life and thought he might be shot, says of the officers that “They should be terminated." There was, “No need for that to happen. Not to me. Not to anybody,” says Reid.