Officers violated multiple SFPD policies, including using excessive force.
SAN FRANCISCO — Today, the Public Defender’s Office filed a complaint with the San Francisco Department of Police Accountability asserting that two SFPD officers violated numerous police department policies when they racially profiled, used excessive force, and carried out illegal detention and arrests at a private home in August 2025. More specifically, the officers treated a Black man as a suspect based solely on his race and later slammed his face into the pavement; grabbed another man by the neck and punched him repeatedly; and pepper-sprayed a disabled, wheelchair-bound woman during a family gathering in a Hunter’s Point home. Two young men were arrested during the incident—23-year-old Carlos Espana-Quintanilla and his 22-year-old friend*—and charges against them were later dropped. The complaint demands an investigation into the officers’ actions. (The DPA investigates police complaints, and the city’s Police Commission decides on appropriate discipline following such investigations.)
“These SFPD officers compounded their profound errors with violence,” said Brian Cox, head of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office Integrity Unit. “They pursued the 22-year-old to his friend’s house—even though, aside from being Black, he had no resemblance to a suspect they were looking for. From there, they violently intruded into a family function and made arrests, shoving the 22-year-old’s face into the sidewalk in the process. Family members protested and demanded to know why police were there, and officers pepper sprayed them.”
Racial Profiling Led to a Violent Intrusion on a Family Gathering
Just before midnight on Aug. 30, 2025, a woman in the Hunter’s Point neighborhood called police after her car broke down. When police arrived, she told them that her boyfriend had run away after physically hurting her. She described the boyfriend as “Black, 5’5” tall, with curly hair, and wearing a black hoodie with red rhinestones in a spider design, as well as black sweats and Crocs.” Police began searching the area and within minutes, spotted a 22-year-old Black man who is 5’2” and was wearing a brown hoodie with white lettering, and white sweatpants. Despite not matching the description of the suspect they were looking for—aside from being Black—police pursued the 22-year-old as he ran back to the nearby home of his friend, Espana-Quintanilla.
The 22-year-old repeatedly told the officers that he had done nothing wrong. Espana-Quintanilla, alarmed by officers physically struggling with his friend, lawfully defended his friend by holding onto the 22-year-old’s shirt and demanding that officers let him go. Police tried to separate the two men, and one officer repeatedly within seconds used two hands to shove Espana-Quintanilla by the neck.
More officers arrived on the scene. They pinned the 22-year-old to the side of the house with his hands raised. One officer picked him up and body-slammed him onto the cement, injuring his nose and chin and causing them to bleed. Police then handcuffed him and put him in a police car.
After that, one officer chased Espana-Quintanilla back into his house, pushed him onto a bed, and punched him multiple times in the face as Espana-Quintanilla cried out to his mother. Officers handcuffed him and took him to a police car.
Alarmed at the intrusion into their family gathering and the violence of the officers, Espana-Quintanilla’s wheelchair-bound sister began yelling at officers to let her brother go. Some part of her body made contact with an officer, who stumbled to the ground. In response, the officer pepper sprayed her in the face at point blank range while the room was crowded with other officers and family members.
Charges Brought & Later Dismissed
Police and prosecutors charged Espana-Quintanilla with two felonies: resisting arrest and battery on an officer. The court later dismissed the charges after Deputy Public Defender Elly Leggatt cross-examined one of the officers, and showed the court body-worn camera footage of the arrest. The court found that the officers had not acted lawfully when entering the home.
The 22-year-old was charged with one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest, which was later dismissed by prosecutors.
Violation of SFPD Policies (Department General Orders)
The complaint that Public Defenders filed today with the DPA argues that the officers violated several SFPD policies as well as the constitutional rights of the two young men they detained.
- Officers lacked reasonable suspicion to detain the 22-year-old since he did not match the description of the person they were looking for—aside from being a Black man. The officers had ample time to see and realize that fact, but they pursued and arrested him anyway, in violation of both his constitutional rights and SFPD policies on racial profiling and detentions.
- Officers used excessive force on the 22-year-old when they slammed him face-first into the concrete while holding one of his hands. His mouth and nose injuries required medical treatment.
- Officers illegally detained, arrested and used excessive force on Espana-Quintanilla — by putting two hands around his neck to push him back several times, and later chasing him into the home and punching him several times.
- Police are not permitted to enter a home without a warrant signed by a judge except under certain circumstances. These circumstances were not met in this case.
“The detention, wrongful arrest, and unnecessary violence inflicted on these two men and their family members were illegal and outrageous,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju. “This incident reeks of racism, and the public deserves a thorough investigation of these officers’ actions.”
*The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office represented Espana-Quintanilla. We have withheld the name of the 22-year-old for privacy reasons.
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