May 12, 2021

David Nisleit

Chief of Police

San Diego Police Department

1401 Broadway

San Diego, CA 92101

Re: Police violence against an unsheltered man today 

Dear Chief Nisleit:

We have been made aware of a disturbing incident this morning involving the brutal handling of a member of our community. We are deeply saddened and angered to see the San Diego Police Department act with such violence against someone who presented no apparent risk to anyone. 

To yell “stop resisting” and to continually punch and slap this man was clearly not conducive to calming the situation.  The SDPD has a de-escalation policy that requires you to use time and space to defuse a situation, rather than immediately move to force.  It seems to us that there was ample space to de-escalate.  Why didn’t they? We want to know if this is how the SDPD envisions de-escalation. Did it really require eight police officers to subdue this barefoot homeless man?

We were told that this man is well known to the neighborhood.  If these officers were familiar with the community they were serving, they might have known he presented little risk.

We will not accept unnecessary violence against our citizens.   We call for an immediate investigation into this matter.  The SDPD truck# is 3809 and is labeled with “Protect and Serve.”  Who were these officers “serving?”  This man posed no obvious threat, had no apparent weapons and no one else was near.  We want to know that this incident of violence will be properly investigated, and be assured that these officers will not be exonerated for this assault on an unarmed black man.

Sincerely,

Francine Maxwell, President
NAACP San Diego Branch

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