SFPD Releases 911 Audio and Body Camera Footage From Fisherman s Wharf Beating
Two days after the San Francisco district attorney filed assault charges against an SFPD officer in connection with an October 2019 baton beating of a domestic violence suspect, the SFPD has released audio from the 911 call that led to the officers arrival at the scene, as well as body-worn camera footage from the incident.
DA Chesa Boudin on Monday filed assault and battery charges against Officer Terrance Stangel, accusing him of using excessive force in subduing 32-year-old Dacari Spiers following a 911 caller s report of a domestic violence incident involving him and his girlfriend. Boudin contends that there was no evidence that any domestic violence was occurring, and that Officer Stangel along with another arriving officer, Officer Cuahtemoc Martinez, were unnecessarily escalating a situation in which they had no legal basis to even arrest Spiers.
SFPD release 911 audio, body-camera footage of Fisherman s Wharf beating incident
By Andre Torrez
SFPD body camera footage of the Dacari Spiers incident at Fisherman s Wharf.
In addition, SFPD Chief Bill Scott released a statement supporting his department and the officers involved, including Officer Terrence Stangel, who is facing multiple felony assault charges from D.A Chesa Boudin s office. I have confidence in our judicial system, and the criminal charges filed on Officer Stangel are now a matter for our judicial system to decide, Scott s statement read in part.
SFPD body camera footage from the Dacari Spiers incident at Fisherman s Wharf in 2019.
At the scene, witnesses pointed out Spiers and his girlfriend to the officers although the officers didn t observe any physical violence or unlawful contact between the pair, prosecutors said.
At one point, Stangel allegedly struck Spiers from behind with his baton. As Martinez forced Spiers to the ground, Stangel continued to strike his legs multiple times, according to prosecutors.
As a result, Spiers suffered a broken leg and wrist, as well as lacerations to his leg. He required surgery and stitches and was wheelchair-bound during his recovery, prosecutors said.
Spiers was never arrested or charged with a offense. This case is an example of an officer unnecessarily escalating a situation and then violently beating a Black man whom he had no legal basis to even arrest. Officers who not only fail to promote safety but actively harm others must and in my administration will be held accountable, Boudin said in statement.
Attorney for SFPD Officer Charged In Beating Says DA Can t Get His Facts Straight
The attorney representing a San Francisco Police officer whom District Attorney Chesa Boudin charged with assault and battery on Monday has shot back with a statement saying her client acted lawfully in the 2019 incident in question.
Boudin announced the charges on Monday against Officer Terrance Stangel stemming from an October 6, 2019 encounter in which Stangel and his partner, Officer Cuahtemoc Martinez, were called to the scene of what a witness allegedly described as a domestic violence incident. The incident happened during Fleet Week last fall, when 32-year-old Dacari Spiers says he had come to Pier 39 to watch the air show with his girlfriend and cousin. That evening, near the intersection of Powell and Beach streets, Stangel and Martinez were responding to a report of a person being strangled.