Legal organization asks AG to review San Diego arrest after DA clears officers

After the San Diego County District Attorney cleared three officers of criminal liability over a 2024 arrest in which they shot a man with beanbags and twice released a K-9, a legal organization asked the California Attorney General’s office to conduct its own investigation and bring felony charges against the officers over that use of force.

District Attorney Summer Stephan on Thursday announced her office had completed its review of the Oct. 24 arrest of Marcus Evans in Encanto, releasing body-worn camera footage as well as recordings of 911 calls in which witnesses reported Evans had hit a woman and pointed a gun.

Evans had a prior felony conviction for domestic violence, according to the DA’s office, which said domestic violence incidents are “among the most volatile and dangerous situations to which police respond …”

In a February letter to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl, Stephan detailed the narrative of the arrest at Evans’ home from the perspective of witnesses, the three officers, video evidence and more. Video of the incident shows Evans walking out of the house shirtless and with his hands up. The DA said that, on multiple occasions, Evans refused to comply with officers’ orders, including their request for him to approach them. One officer fired a beanbag at him three times, while two others released K-9s, with the second dog biting Evans’ arm for about 40 seconds.

Evans sued the city and settled last year for $875,000.

In clearing the officers, the DA’s office concluded they were at a “tactical disadvantage” with the home elevated above them and unidentified people inside, finding the officers’ use of force was in response to his noncompliance and warranted no state criminal liability.

“If you’ve seen the videos, as I have, they’re horrifying,” said Andre Bollinger, president of the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association, which first asked the DA to investigate in 2025. Upon learning the officers would not be prosecuted, he then sent a letter to state Attorney General Rob Bonta to request a California Department of Justice investigation, noting Evans “suffered a broken tibia, K9 mauling wounds, as well as extreme psychological trauma.”

“We really need a robust, prosecutorial agency to look at this and bring charges against these officers, because I don’t believe they’ve been disciplined,” Bollinger said. “I don’t believe they’ve paid a dime of this. This is all coming from us as taxpayers.”

Bonta’s office on Friday confirmed it received the request but said in a statement, “in order to protect their integrity, we’re unable to comment on, even to confirm or deny, potential or ongoing investigations.”

The San Diego DA’s office said it was “confident” in its investigation and welcomed a review, but at the same time, expressed frustration over the bar association’s narrative of the arrest.

“When only a fragment of a story is shared or a brief video clip is released without context, the public is misled and our community is harmed,” the DA’s office said, adding, “It is troubling that this association, which is supposed to care about justice, showed no concerns over the abuse of women and decided to tell a partial narrative to its members and the public.”

The DA’s release on Thursday also raised questions in an ongoing lawsuit filed by the watchdog group The First Amendment Coalition, which sued the city for a full release of all records related to the arrest. In a March filing in that lawsuit, the city contended it could not release the records because the DA’s investigation was ongoing. But the DA’s release included the letter to Wahl clearing the officers, which was dated a month earlier. San Diego police said staffing changes and a lag time in receipt of the letter led to mistaken information in that court filing.

“This is about the people’s right to know the full story of what happened, regardless of whether the officers involved are at fault,” said David Loy, the coalition’s legal director.

Loy said the DA declining to file charges made the organization’s case “even more compelling,” because that means the release would not impact any criminal trial. He said the coalition filed an update with the court noting the discrepancy, with a hearing in that lawsuit – still seeking written reports and other materials not released by the DA – scheduled for June.

Evans’ attorney Dante Pride said he has since moved out of San Diego, unable to live in the city after the arrest.

“He’s trying to rebuild his life, put things back together after being, you know, a flashpoint in the community,” said Pride, who said he agreed with the bar association’s request for a DOJ review.

“I think a 5-year-old watching that video would be asking questions about, ‘Why are they doing that to that man?’ ” Pride said. “He had nothing on him. He turned around in a full circle. Police officers were able to see his hands, his waistband and his feet, so there was no reason to use any type of force on him at all.”

Pride said in the civil lawsuit that the city raised the possibility that there may have been a weapon behind the retaining wall by which Evans stood and sat at times – but there was no mention of it in the DA’s report, which he said failed to explain how the force used “made the tactical situation any better.”

“Mr. Evans decided that, you know, for him it made more sense to take the settlement and get away from the city and get away from the issue,” Pride said. “From my perspective, I did not want to settle the case. I wanted to fight the case because I believe the officers that shot Mr. Evans and released the dogs should be held accountable.”

The Commission on Police Practices, which investigates San Diego police shootings and incidents, said it received the case last month. The commission is scheduled to review it and vote in closed session on May 6.