The security guard who shot and killed Banko Brown in April faces a $1,500 fine from the state in relation to his actions around the fatal encounter in April, The Standard has learned.
But the fine—the first official consequence for Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony, who was not charged by District Attorney Brooke Jenkins—is not related to his decision to shoot Brown.
Instead, the California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services cited Anthony for not wearing a badge identifying him as a security guard and having a concealed weapon. That weapon was in addition to the gun he used to shoot Brown.
“Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony was involved in a shooting while on duty wearing a sweatshirt that did not have bureau-approved patches on each shoulder that read ‘private security’ and included the name of the company by which Anthony was employed,” wrote the bureau’s Deputy Chief Samuel Stodolski in a July 24 letter. “It was further discovered that Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony was carrying a concealed firearm in a zippered pouch on the tactical vest he was wearing over his sweatshirt.”
Anthony, who did not respond to a request for comment, let his firearm permit lapse in May.
Meanwhile, Anthony’s former employer, Kingdom Group Protective Services, was fined $5,000 for failing to file an incident report within seven days of the shooting and failing to keep an accurate record of its employees’ license and training status, according to a July 13 letter.
The company was also fined $500 for allowing both Anthony and his partner, Angel Wilfredo Castro, to stand guard without identifying patches and another $500 for allowing Castro to carry a replica firearm.
James Vierra, Kingdom Group’s CEO, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Brown was shot and killed by Anthony at a Walgreens on Market Street April 27, leading to public outcry over what many called a needless killing. Video of the incident released after the shooting showed the pair wrestling near the door before Brown exited the store and was shot by Anthony, who told investigators Brown had threatened to stab him.
The District Attorney’s Office said the choice not to charge Anthony was in part because they believed he acted in self defense. Jenkins also cited Banko’s criminal past, including a run in with another Walgreens security guard after an attempted theft, as a reason not to press charges. No knife was found on Brown after the fatal shooting.
If Anthony does not pay the $1,500 citation within 30 days, he could face disciplinary action.
Several local officials have said the way this case has been handled does not inspire confidence in the state’s ability to hold the roughly 10,000 San Francisco security guards accountable.
“It’s not satisfying. […] It feels like a rinky-dink measure by the state of California,” Supervisor Aaron Peskin said in reference to the fines. “It doesn’t feel like their oversight regiment is holding armed security guards to a high standard, but then again, our DA didn’t seem to hold the security guard to a high standard either.”