Former Black Panther Elaine Brown is suing the city over an SFPD raid at the West Oakland apartment complex she owns and operates, alleging officers used excessive force when they busted through the building’s glass doors with a battering ram.
As the Chronicle reports, Brown filed the federal lawsuit Tuesday, accusing the city and SFPD of using excessive force during the May raid, which occurred shortly after SFPD officers arrested 18-year-old Jamil Butler. Officers spotted Butler, who police say was wanted in connection with two armed robberies in San Francisco, about a block from the Black Panther Apartments.
Butler did not live at the 79-unit building, and the search warrant was instead for a fifth-floor apartment rented by Butler’s girlfriend, where officers seized a pair of shoes and a jacket that police said were connected to an earlier San Francisco robbery.
Soon after Butler was taken into custody, a large group of plainclothes officers arrived at the building in unmarked vehicles. According to the lawsuit, officers put on dark vests marked “POLICE” and demanded entry into the building.
The building’s security guard, Shawn Johnson, was outside the entrance and reportedly asked officers to show him the search warrant and wait for the on-site manager, Misty Cross. Instead, the suit alleges, an officer knocked Johnson’s phone from his hand, pushed him against a wall, and handcuffed him. Johnson was accused of obstruction, but the charge was later dismissed.
According to the Chronicle, police then brought out what appeared to be a sledgehammer and battering ram and ordered building personnel to open the doors, which can be seen in video obtained by KTVU at the time. Employees again asked to see the warrant, and the suit says an officer briefly held a piece of paper up to the glass before putting it away.
Officers then smashed through the building’s glass entrance and entered the lobby, proceeding toward the elevators, according to the complaint. Cross, a former Moms 4 Housing activist, told KTVU at the time that officers had arrived in plain clothes and that the way they approached the building initially led some residents to fear they were federal immigration agents.
Brown said the raid was particularly frightening for residents because children were returning home from school at the time, adding that they were subsequently forced to walk through broken glass at the entrance.
The Chronicle reports that the complaint also alleges that SFPD had been surveilling the property for more than a month before the raid, including through what it describes as “unauthorized Wi-Fi taps.” Brown’s attorney, Adante Pointer, questioned why such a large police operation was necessary after Butler had already been arrested.
“Was the goal to investigate and arrest someone who, by the way, was already in custody,” Pointer said. “Or was this really used as a tool to intimidate and send a message to (the building’s) residents, as well as its owners?”
The lawsuit alleges unreasonable search and seizure, excessive force, vandalism, battery, and unlawful arrest. Per the Chronicle, Brown, who was the Black Panther Party’s first and only female chairwoman, owns the complex through her nonprofit, Oakland & the World Enterprises, alongside Missouri-based developer McCormack Baron Salazar.
SFPD said at the time of the raid that “exigent circumstances” led officers to enter the building. Police said officers identified themselves as SFPD personnel, wore police insignia and body-worn cameras, and that the incident was captured on body-camera footage that was subsequently reviewed by the department.
A San Francisco police spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit, referring questions to the City Attorney’s Office. A spokesperson for that office told the Chronicle the city will respond to the complaint in court once it is served.
Previously: SFPD Officers Use Battering Ram at West Oakland Apartments Linked to Black Panthers
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