A civilian oversight group found that two SFPD officers used unnecessary force after they typed the incorrect license plate number and pursued the wrong man, smashing his window and pepper-spraying him at point-blank range, an encounter that preceded his apparent suicide.

The incident took place on July 4, 2024, when San Francisco Police Department officers Jonathan Zepeda and Vinesh Govindbhai spotted 48-year-old Matthew Ludwig driving a Honda Accord in the Tenderloin, as Mission Local reports. The two officers reportedly entered the wrong license plate number into their computers, causing them to believe the car had been reported stolen.

The officers followed Ludwig for several blocks and reported seeing him speeding and running red lights. When Ludwig stopped at an intersection on O’Farrell Street, Govindbhai got out of the police cruiser and approached the Honda. According to the Public Defender’s Office complaint, body-camera footage shows an officer who appears to be Govindbhai running toward the car, smashing the window with a baton, and pulling Ludwig to the ground.

According to Mission Local, the Department of Police Accountability found that the officers never attempted to stop Ludwig before breaking the window. They reportedly did not activate their lights or siren, or otherwise signal him to pull over.

Once Ludwig was on the ground, the officer repeatedly ordered him to put his hands behind his back as Ludwig appeared to use one hand to prop himself up. Another officer, who appears to be Zepeda, then arrived and held Ludwig’s legs while the first officer deployed pepper spray directly toward his face from only inches away.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the officer can then be heard warning Ludwig, “You’re about to get sprayed,” before discharging the pepper spray. The footage later shows an officer pouring water over Ludwig’s face while he remained handcuffed on the sidewalk.

“Can’t breathe,” Ludwig says. “I can’t breathe.”

The officers realized after the arrest that they had entered the wrong license plate number, according to the watchdog’s report. They nevertheless booked Ludwig and sought criminal charges for resisting arrest and reckless driving. The Department of Police Accountability later found the reckless-driving allegation unsubstantiated.

The watchdog also found that the pepper spray was used in violation of SFPD policy, which requires officers to maintain a minimum distance of 4.5 feet when spraying a suspect in the face, according to Mission Local. The report concluded that the officers used unnecessary force and violated multiple department policies.

The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges based on the officers’ accounts, and the Integrity Unit of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office filed a complaint on Ludwig’s behalf in May 2025.

The arrest reportedly devastated Ludwig’s life after police impounded his car, which was sold at auction after he was unable to pay the fee to retrieve it, as Mission Local reports. According to Deputy Public Defender Brandon Coleman, who represented Ludwig, Ludwig lost his remaining property days later when the RV he shared with his girlfriend was towed.

Ludwig's criminal charges were still pending when he was found dead in a park in Rowan County, Kentucky in September 2025. Per the LA Times, it’s believed his death was a suicide.

“Nothing justifies the amount of violence that SFPD officers used on Mr. Ludwig, especially when it stemmed from their own mistake,” said Brian Cox, head of the Public Defender’s Office Integrity Unit.

Mission Local reports that the Department of Police Accountability, which investigates complaints against San Francisco police officers and reports to the Police Commission, completed its report in February. The SFPD declined to comment on the findings, citing pending litigation, while the City Attorney’s Office said the city had not been served with a lawsuit related to the incident.

Related: SF Police Officers Accused of Racial Profiling, Excessive Force, and More In August 2025 Case

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