During the partial government shutdown, screeners at two Silicon Valley airports, San Francisco and San Jose International, moved thousands of people through security checkpoints.

Operations at the airports, 35 miles apart, looked similar — uniformed officers reminding people to take off their shoes and put their laptops in plastic bins — but there was one major difference: Only the officers at the San Francisco airport were getting paid.

That’s because San Francisco International is one of nearly two dozen airports across the country that use private contractors instead of the Transportation Security Administration to conduct its security screening.

As the shutdown stretched from days into weeks, growing numbers of TSA workers stopped showing up. At one point, 10 percent of TSA officers failed to report for duty.

The result: scattered staffing shortages across the country and anxiety for travelers. Airports in Baltimore, Houston and Miami were forced to temporarily close checkpoints. TSA officials conceded that many officers weren’t coming into work because of the financial hardship of working without pay.

TSA: financial stress of shutdown is forcing officers to stay home

“Operations were normal,” said Doug Yakel, an airport spokesman.

There has long been a debate over whether airport screening should be provided by the federal government or by private companies. And the recent government shutdown — and the potential for a repeat if lawmakers can’t reach a deal with President Trump by Friday — has some wondering whether anxiety over staffing may prompt more airports to consider switching to private contractors.

Before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, airport security was handled by private contractors and paid for by the airlines. But after 9/11, those duties were turned over to the newly created TSA, which is responsible for security screening at the vast majority of the nation’s 440-plus airports.

But as part of that agreement, Congress also created a voluntary pilot program that allowed five airports to use private contractors for security screening. The program, launched in 2002, eventually was open to all airports. Today, 22 airports — including the original five: San Francisco, Kansas City International in Missouri, Greater Rochester Inter­national in New York, Jackson Hole in Wyoming and Tupelo Regional in Mississippi — participate.

Proponents of the system say that the TSA hasn’t made it easy for airports to make the switch. The agency has final say on whether an airport can opt to have private screeners, and although requests are rarely turned down, the process could be time-consuming. Others blame inertia, saying some airports are reluctant to tinker with an arrangement that works.

“I don’t know why, but it’s just ingrained in our mind that this is the only way it’s done,” said David Inserra, a policy analyst for homeland security at the Heritage Foundation, who has long advocated for the shift to the use of private companies for screening.

Among the considerations once an airport has applied for the program: The cost of private screeners cannot be greater than what it would be if the TSA remained at the airport. If approved, the TSA — not the airport — selects, pays and manages the contractor.

Private contractors are required to follow the same rules and procedures as their TSA counterparts but are given some leeway to determine how they staff checkpoints. The workers wear different uniforms, but their training, salary and benefits are about the same. The starting salary for a TSA officer is $37,455 but can be higher in some parts of the country depending on staffing needs and the cost of living.

Although the private screeners are contractors, they were paid during the shutdown when other government contractors were not because they were considered essential personnel, and failure to pay them would have violated their contract.

Evaluations of the two programs by outside firms hired by the TSA have found no significant differences between the two systems — either in cost or the ability to move passengers through checkpoints, TSA officials said.

However, studies by the Government Accountability Office note that in some instances private contractors’ costs were 2 percent to 19 percent lower than the TSA’s estimates of its costs for the same work. The GAO also said that the TSA’s calculations failed to include costs such as retirement benefits.

A TSA spokeswoman said the agency has adjusted its estimates based on the GAO’s recommendations.

The shutdown is stressing the nation’s aviation system

The outside evaluations did not examine customer complaints, nor did they analyze absenteeism, retention or attrition of the screeners who work for private companies.

Inserra, of the Heritage Foundation, contends that private companies are better suited to the job of managing airport security. He said they are more adept at managing and retaining employees and can react more quickly to surges in passenger traffic.

“TSA’s focus should be on policy — setting the standards, developing new technology,” added Steve Amitay, executive director of the National Association of Security Companies. “So much of TSA is devoted to managing this screener workforce. It’s doing a job that’s not inherently governmental.”

A 2004 report by the Congressional Research Service, however, found that when private companies ran security services in the years before the 9/11 attacks, their workforce suffered from low morale and high turnover — some of the same problems that plague today’s TSA. Amitay, however, maintained that new standards for training and pay have improved working conditions and morale for contractors.

At TSA Academy, the lessons are hands-on

But Greg Regan, secretary-treasurer of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, a coalition of 32 unions, argued that security screening is best left to the federal government.

“The mission of TSA is to keep people safe,” he said. “The goal is to identify threats and prevent them from having a negative impact on our system. That is the ultimate mission statement. When you privatize, you’re going to introduce another goal into that, and that’s profit.”

Other union officials argue that the answer isn’t privatization, but a functional federal government that can pay its workers and its bills on time.

“I think throwing up our hands and turning to private security operators is not the solution here,” said J. David Cox Sr., national president of the American Federation of Government Employees. “The federal government needs to do its job to provide the screening services.”

Union says TSA officers can’t afford to man checkpoint without paychecks

Added Mary Schiavo, former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department and an aviation expert: “We must never say our TSA employees are not important enough to be federal employees.”

She noted that the 9/11 attacks happened at a time when checkpoints were run by private companies.

Some of the country’s largest airports have toyed with the idea of shifting to private contractors. In 2016, after an understaffed TSA struggled to keep up with a record number of travelers, airport officials in Chicago, New York and Atlanta threatened to use private contractors.

TSA officials blamed the backups on years of cuts that forced the agency to slash its airport workforce of 45,000 by 12 percent. The furor died down after TSA officials pledged changes and persuaded Congress to beef up its staffing. The TSA has 51,000 screeners, and about 33,000 work on any given day.

Atlantic City International Airport recently shifted to private screeners after growing frustration with TSA staffing that didn’t take into account flight delays.

Stephen F. Dougherty, executive director of the South Jersey Transportation Authority, said the TSA would regularly close the airport’s checkpoint at certain hours regardless of whether flights were delayed. As a result, hundreds of passengers missed their flights because there was no one to clear them through security.

“[Atlantic City International] prides itself on being a much more convenient, passenger- friendly airport than the larger airports in the region, and this change went against core operating principles,” he said.

TSA scrambles to staff checkpoints after complaints of long waits

Some Republican lawmakers have pushed legislation to make it easier for airports to shift to private screeners. A bill introduced by last year by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) sought to, among other changes, shorten the amount of time it takes for airports to get TSA approval to make the switch. Lee is updating his bill and plans to reintroduce it this year, his spokesman said. However, a provision in legislation to fund the Federal Aviation Administration, approved last year, requires the TSA to make a decision on any application within 60 days. The agency previously had 120 days to make a decision.

Christopher Bidwell, vice president of security at Airports Council International-North America, a group that advocates for the nation’s airports, said it supports programs that give airports the flexibility they need to best serve travelers.

“Our position on [SPP], is that it should remain a viable program for any airport that wishes to participate.”

Shutdown is stressing the nation’s air safety system

Air traffic controllers get their first shutdown pay stub: $0.00

TSA mulls plan to eliminate security checkpoints at 150 small airports

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Cole Hardware’s SoMa store will shut its doors on May 31 due to a declining customer base and security concerns, its CFO Rick Karp told The Standard. The company also alerted customers to its closure via a recent email announcement.

The 103-year-old San Francisco hardware store chain had bet big on SoMa before the pandemic as developments popped up around the once up-and-coming neighborhood. 

But since the pandemic, the customer base has been steadily shrinking as incidents with crime and nuisance behavior become more prevalent, according to Karp, who goes by the moniker of Keeper of the Karma, rather than CFO. 

READ MORE: Downtown San Francisco: Human Waste Increasingly Found in Westfield Mall Elevators, Staff Say

The 345 Ninth St. location, just blocks from Twitter HQ, had its window smashed at around 10 a.m. Tuesday by a passerby, according to Karp. San Francisco police could not find a report of the incident, but Karp said the store would only call the police if it intended to file a report for insurance purposes.

“Somebody decided to break our front window, just smashed it with their backpack and kept walking,” Karp said. “Our staff have issues with individuals on a daily basis. Security is definitely an issue.” 

But the main issue for the company is the declining customer base that just keeps getting worse, said Karp. 

“Instead of getting close to breaking even, we’re getting further and further away,” Karp said.

Cole’s isn’t the first business to drop out of SoMa, which is often referred to as the neighborhood that’s second-most affected by the city’s drug crisis. In February, Samy’s Camera on the corner of Ninth and Bryant streets also closed its doors.  Ace Plumbing and Rooter Inc. banners now hang from the building Samy’s once occupied.

“I think SoMa’s issues will be chronic for many years to come,” said Karp.

The SoMa store is having a closing-down sale, all items are 25% off.

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Courtesy Attorney John Burris

Banko Brown was fatally shot by a man who never identified himself as a security guard, a lawyer for the Brown family says.

CNN
 — 

The security guard who fatally shot Banko Brown, a transgender man who was suspected of shoplifting from a San Francisco Walgreens in April, must pay $1,500 in fines for code violations, says the agency that regulates security services in California.

Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony is being fined for carrying a concealed firearm and for uniform violations, according to a citation order from California’s Bureau of Security and Investigative Services.

The notice, issued by Deputy Chief Samuel Stodolski, says Anthony did not have a concealed weapons permit at the time of the shooting but was carrying a gun in a zippered pouch on the tactical vest he was wearing on April 27.

The citation order says Anthony was wearing a sweatshirt without “bureau-approved patches on each shoulder,” which should have said “private security” and the name of his employer, when he was on duty at a downtown Walgreens.

“(That) may be the reason (Brown) was trying to get away or resist as much as he can,” Brown family lawyer John Burris said during a phone call to CNN on Friday. “Nowhere did he (Anthony) say that ‘I’m a security guard.’”

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins declined to file criminal charges against Anthony, saying he acted in self-defense. In May, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office would investigate that decision.

According to a report released in May, the security guard told investigators Brown repeatedly threatened to stab him.

Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle/AP

Asia Hubbard, ex-girlfriend of Banko Brown, speaks outside City Hall, Monday, May 15, 2023, after a march from the Market Street Walgreens in San Francisco, following District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ decision not to prosecute security guard, Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony, for confronting and killing Brown, who was suspected of shoplifting inside the store. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

San Francisco security guard will not be charged in fatal shooting of suspected Walgreens shoplifter

Surveillance camera video also released in May shows the moment when Anthony attempts to stop Brown from leaving the store before Brown shoves him. A physical altercation ensues, the footage shows, where Anthony holds Brown on the ground and then releases him after about a minute. Brown begins to leave before turning around and moving toward Anthony, who shoots him.

Anthony must pay the $1,500 total for three fines within 30 days of the citation, which was issued on Monday, or he could face “disciplinary action” by the bureau. He can contest the decision with the disciplinary review committee, the citation order says.

Anthony has not responded to requests for comment from CNN.

The security company that employed Anthony, Kingdom Group Protective Services, also faces a $5,000 fine from the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services for failing to submit an incident report within seven days of the shooting, as well as failing to “maintain an accurate and current record of the proof of completion of the trainings” for Anthony.

The security company was also given 30 days from the citation date, July 13, to pay its fine. The company has not returned CNN’s request for comment.

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Security guards and portable toilets spotted at PG&E substations around San Francisco could be linked to a recent break-in at a facility, raising safety concerns among consumer advocates amid attacks on power grids across the country.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, the break-in occurred at 8:39 p.m. on June 9 at the PG&E substation on Leidesdorff Street near Commercial Street.

“We witnessed an unauthorized break-in at a San Francisco substation and are working with law enforcement to investigate,” PG&E spokesman Jason King confirmed, adding that there were no power outages related to the incident.

According to initial police investigations, an unknown person gained access to the facility and manipulated a control panel in the electrical system. PG&E security personnel notified the FBI after the incident.

Dispatch audio recordings from the time of the incident described it as “sabotage” and classified it as malicious mischief or vandalism.

District Manager Aaron Peskin, who represents the area, didn’t know if guards were stationed at other PG&E substations in San Francisco, but said the incident may have been a reason to add them.

“If there are guards, I’m assuming it’s not because of broken transformers, but because they hacked into one of their substations,” Peskin said.

When asked if the incident resulted in an increased security presence around the utility’s San Francisco substations, King said he couldn’t name specific security measures to “avoid giving anyone a roadmap.”

Security guards and mobile toilets were spotted at three substations in different parts of the city.

Attacks on the power grid in the United States

Recent attacks on nine substations in North Carolina, Washington and Oregon have increased concerns about power grid security.

The New York Times reported in February that the FBI had offered two $25,000 rewards for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for two shootings at a North Carolina substation in December and January. The January incident left 45,000 people without power for five days.

Recent attacks have made network security a key priority for North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).

“The increase in physical attacks on the nation’s power infrastructure underscores the need to continue to assess potential grid vulnerabilities and determine whether additional security controls are needed to more fully protect this critical infrastructure going forward,” said Rachel Sherrard, spokeswoman for NERC. in an opinion.

According to one report, PG&E spent $300 million protecting substations after a San Jose substation was hit by gunfire in 2013, causing $15 million in damage.

The San Jose incident prompted a brief statewide safety assessment, according to Thomas Long, director of regulatory strategy at the Utility Reform Network, a California consumer advocacy group for utilities.

“There was some effort [California] “The Public Utilities Commission needs to look into whether PG&E and other utilities are taking care of the adequate security of these substations, but that was many years ago and I don’t recall there being a public inquiry,” Long said.

It has long been questioned whether regulators will hold PG&E accountable for making proper use of its revenue, which is funded by the high utility fees paid by consumers.

“I don’t know if PG&E is doing enough security efforts given the money taxpayers are paying,” he said. “Our tariffs fund PG&E to provide these security guards at the substations.”

The California Public Utilities Commission did not respond to comment at the time of publication.

In late April, thousands of customers in Downtown and Chinatown were without power for five days after a fire at a PG&E underground vault at 640 Clay St. The San Francisco Fire Department responded in less than four minutes, but it took PG&E 20 minutes to arrive at the scene.

The delay in emergency response time and restoration of power prompted Peskin to convene a May 18 hearing where residents of affected areas criticized the utility.

“There have been numerous failures of vaults and other PG&E equipment over many years,” Peskin said at the hearing. “This particular incident is characterized by the fact that […] power was restored to the last buildings and individuals 123 hours later.”

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Cole Hardware’s SoMa store will close its doors on May 31 due to a dwindling customer base and safety concerns, CFO Rick Karp told The Standard. The company also recently emailed its customers about the closure.

The 103-year-old San Francisco home improvement chain had bet heavily on SoMa prior to the pandemic as new developments loomed in the once-thriving neighborhood.

But since the pandemic, the customer base has steadily shrunk as incidents of crime and harassing behavior have become more common, according to Karp, who doesn’t call himself CFO but “Keeper of the Karma.”

CONTINUE READING: Downtown San Francisco: Human waste is increasingly being found in Westfield Mall elevators, employees say

Karp said the window of the 345 Ninth St. location, just blocks from Twitter’s headquarters, was smashed by a passerby around 10 a.m. Tuesday. San Francisco police couldn’t find a report of the incident, but Karp said the store would only call the police if it planned to file a report for insurance purposes.

“Someone decided to break our front window, just smashed it with their backpack and walked on,” Karp said. “Our employees have problems with individuals on a daily basis. Safety is definitely an issue.”

The main problem for the company, however, is the ever-declining customer base, said Karp.

“Instead of coming close to breaking even, we’re getting further and further away from it,” Karp said.

Cole’s isn’t the first company to exit SoMa, which is often dubbed the neighborhood second hardest hit by the city’s drug crisis. Samy’s Camera on the corner of Ninth Street and Bryant Street also closed its doors in February. Ace Plumbing and Rooter Inc. banners now hang from the building where Samy once lived.

“I think SoMa’s problems will remain chronic for many years to come,” Karp said.

There is a final sale in the SoMa store, with a 25% discount on all items.

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San Francisco airport was evacuated due to an “unattended item” in Terminal 2’s food court, while a passenger said a family tried to bypass security

Crowds jostle in the San Francisco terminal as emergency services move people away

San Francisco Airport has been evacuated and police are at the scene after reports say an unattended bag and family bypassed security by entering through the exit.

Angry passengers report that police are flooding the area, moving planes and evicting people from the building.

San Francisco International Airport said there was an “unattended item” in the Terminal 2 food court and was accused of “ridiculously” handling the situation.

One person asked, “Waiting for someone to lose it and start a stampede?”

San Francisco International Airport said in a statement on Twitter: “#SFOAlert – SFPD is responding to Terminal 2 food court area to clear an unattended item. The food court and D-gate areas are being evacuated as a precaution.”

Traveler Lisa Alpert took to Twitter to warn her fellow travelers.

She said: “Everyone around the dining area of ​​Terminal 2, Gate D was evacuated and then asked not to move while security forces assessed the situation. Security checks have also been suspended.”

Concerned flyers are waiting to hear what’s about to happen. Pictures are posted on social media

She added that the terminal was evacuated, “but if you exited the airport or went to another wing, you were allowed to do that. We are in Terminal 2, Wing C and they stopped boarding for one flight but they are allowing that.” Boarding for others.” Unclear what’s going on.

According to Erik Charlton, emergency vehicles were reported arriving at Terminal 2 and evacuating the crews. He tweeted, “SFO Terminal 2 – Crews evacuate and emergency vehicles arrive.”

Other travelers took to Twitter to find out what was going on.

Taking to Twitter, @DLoutsis said: “What’s up @flySFO… The captain just told us that the police are ordering our plane to move while we were waiting to get to our gate and we are now moving further away from the building away. Do it. It’s a law enforcement issue.”

@allie_oldham replied: “Bag left unattended in food court area. The terminal is currently being evacuated.”

@hhekas1 tweeted: “Something is happening at SFO that resulted in the entire Gate D being evacuated and police cordoning off an area at the gate.”

Another Twitter user wrote: “Everyone is being evacuated from Terminal 2 and now everyone is trying to get into T3.”

@FoodWineMaven claimed, “TSA agents are waiting for police to arrest a family who skipped security by entering the terminal through the exit.”

Images released online show huge crowds gathering while concerned travelers move on and wait and see what happens.

Departure terminal in San Francisco

@carolynlight posted video of crowds waiting and said: “Evacuation Terminal 2 at SFO. Fire truck and ambulance.”

San Francisco International Airport has not disclosed more than detailed in its first tweet on its official @flySFO account.

One angry passenger wrote: “@flySFO any updates? I’m on a plane that has arrived waiting for a gate while a lot of people are nervous about missing connections.”

@adambcollins1 wrote: “It would be really great for the thousands of passengers if you make some kind of announcement, post something on a board or ANYTHING other than having people flock around with no information about their flights. I was told.” My flight would be halted. He went. My new FLT T2 too.

Kelly Winn-Boaitey said: “It’s so ridiculous the way this is being handled. We’re crammed into the lot just outside Terminal D, and the TSA lady in the cheeky pants needs some customer service. Are you waiting for someone to lose control and start a rush?”

Another replied: “Updates needed for people whose flights are still reported as ‘on time’ and scheduled to depart within the hour.”

Reena Rahal angrily wrote: “There are no ticket agents at Air Canada what is going on and why is no one informing us about our flights???”

We bring you the latest updates, images and videos on this breaking news.

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CNN
—

The security guard who shot dead a suspected shoplifter at a Walgreens in downtown San Francisco last month will not be prosecuted, prosecutors said Monday, saying the gunman acted in self-defense.

Brooke Jenkins prosecutors on Monday released surveillance video and a written report of Michael Anthony’s April 27 fatal shooting of Banko Brown.

According to the report, the guard said Brown repeatedly threatened to stab him before the shooting. The report stated that police did not find a knife in Brown’s possession, but prosecutors nevertheless concluded that his fears were valid.

“Given the totality of the circumstances, including the threat, which Anthony believed and could reasonably believe, the evidence shows that Brown’s shooting was not a criminal act as Anthony acted in lawful self-defense,” the report reads. “Anthony is therefore not criminally responsible for Brown’s death.”

However, Brown’s family attorney, John Burris, told CNN’s Sara Sidner that the security guard’s actions “went far beyond what was reasonable and necessary.”

“Stopping someone and talking to them is different than stopping them, beating them up and eventually killing them,” Burris said Tuesday

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors last week sent a letter asking District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to release surveillance video showing the shooting after no charges were filed against the guard during the 72 hours he was in custody.

Courtesy of attorney John Burris

Banko Brown was fatally shot by a security guard at a Walgreens store in San Francisco on April 27.

Surveillance camera video released Monday shows Brown attempting to exit the store before being stopped by a security guard, identified by police as Anthony. Brown then shoves the guard, leading to a physical altercation.

Brown is pinned to the ground by the guard but released after about a minute, video shows. Brown is about to leave but appears to turn and walk toward the security guard, who then shoots him, video shows.

The murder and lack of charges have sparked protests in San Francisco linked to broader debates about crime, poverty, homelessness and criminal justice in the Northern California city.

San Francisco has seen a significant exodus of middle-class residents since the Covid-19 pandemic, and a spate of brazen property crimes and rampant public drug use have created a sense of disorder, as CNN reports in the current special, What About San happened?” did Francisco investigate?”

One such incident was a 2021 day theft at a Walgreens store that was caught on video, in which a suspect casually snatched items off shelves, tossed them into a black bag and exited the store, pointing at the store’s security guard and several onlookers passed. Walgreens said at the time this “blatant retail theft” was an ongoing problem at its stores, although a company executive said earlier this year “maybe we cried too much” over the issue.

As part of the backlash, progressive prosecutor Chesa Boudin was removed from office last year by a 55% majority. Jenkins was named to succeed him and vowed to “restore accountability and consequence to our criminal justice system,” saying this is the moment to “take back our streets.”

San Francisco District Attorney’s Office

Surveillance camera video shows part of the encounter between Banko Brown (left) and security guard Michael Anthony before Anthony fatally shot Banko.

In his videotaped interview with police, the guard said Brown repeatedly threatened to stab him during the fight.

“I felt like I was in danger. I felt like I was about to be stabbed,” Anthony said.

According to the district attorney’s report, Brown was a transgender man. Anthony went on to describe his state of mind at the moment Brown approached him, using incorrect pronouns.

“And I didn’t know what she was up to, but, uh… turns out her intention was to… try to spit on me, and by that reaction of turning around and coming towards me… that’s when I raised it.” high (movements). with your hands) and then shot once.”

The district attorney’s report states that self-defense applies when a person has a reasonable belief that they are in imminent danger of being killed or seriously injured.

“There is no evidence that Anthony’s fear was genuine,” the report said.

However, Burris, the attorney for Brown’s family, said he would soon be filing a lawsuit in the case.

“I watched the tape and looked at it pretty closely, and I think that shooting was unjustified,” he told CNN.

“The family is very concerned that no prosecution has taken place, particularly the father and mother, and they want the matter escalated to the Attorney General’s Office for consideration.”

Aaron Peskin, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said he is asking the Attorney General and the US Department of Justice to review the case. He told CNN affiliate KGO that the video worried him.

“There is a distance between them, Banko Brown is unarmed, Banko Brown is outside the store,” he said.

Walgreens issued a statement expressing condolences to Brown’s family.

“The safety of our patients, customers and team members is our top priority and violence of any kind will not be tolerated in our branches,” the company said. “We take the matter seriously and are cooperating with the local authorities.”

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SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco District Attorney on Monday released surveillance video showing the fatal shooting of a suspected shoplifter by an on-duty Walgreens security guard, along with other footage and documents that she says support her decision not to press charges against the guard , substantiate.

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins released the information amid public outrage over the April 27 death of Banko Brown, a 24-year-old who was unarmed, outside a downtown Walgreens building. Last week, the board of directors passed a resolution asking her office and the police to release more evidence. She justified her decision not to attack security guard Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony on the grounds of self-defense.

But the release of surveillance video didn’t seem to calm critics in a city dogged by brazen shoplifting and where there is much disagreement about the appropriate response to crime, especially when the suspect is homeless or impoverished.

The silent footage shows Brown walking towards the door with a bag in hand when he is stopped by Anthony, who then hits him repeatedly. The two fight until Anthony pinches Brown to the ground. Meanwhile, shoppers continued to enter the store during the altercation.

When Anthony lets go of Brown, Brown picks up the bag and makes his way out of the store. He turns and appears to walk towards Anthony, whereupon Anthony raises his gun and fires once, causing Brown to fall back onto the ground outside.

In a police interview, Anthony said he asked Brown to return the items, but Brown was aggressive and fought to keep the items. He said he told Brown he would let him go if he calmed down, and that Brown kept saying he would stab him. A knife was not found on Brown.

Anthony said he let Brown go, but he drew his gun and kept it pointed at the ground just in case Brown charged. He said he fired as Brown advanced, unaware that Brown would simply spit at him.

San Francisco supervisor Shamann Walton said in a statement that the video offered no justification for the shooting. He plans to join Chief Executive Aaron Peskin in asking the Attorney General for an independent review of the prosecutor’s decision.

But Jenkins, who initially dropped the case on May 1, said even after seeking further evidence, there was nothing to disprove the guard’s reasonable claim of self-defense. She urged viewers to review all evidence, including witness and police accounts, particularly given the lack of sound in the video footage.

“There will be a temptation as people to just look at the video footage of this incident and nothing else. We’re used to seeing videos online and often that’s what grabs our attention rather than going a step further” , she said in a press conference.

Brown, who struggled with homelessness, worked as a community organizer for the Young Women’s Freedom Center, a nonprofit organization that supports young women and transgender youth.

“We don’t have to see the video to know that the killing of Banko Brown was unjust. “Armed violence is not a justifiable response to poverty,” Julia Arroyo, the center’s co-executive director, said in a statement Monday. “We have to live with the sobering reality that he was killed for no reason other than $14.”

Arroyo described Brown as a bright and funny young man who was shy but made friends easily.

Supervisor Dean Preston introduced legislation last week banning private security guards from drawing their firearms unless there is an actual and specific threat to an individual.

Walgreens did not immediately respond to an email asking for comment. Walgreens, Target and other downtown retailers have complained of brazen shoplifting. Whole Foods recently announced it would temporarily close a downtown location, citing employee safety.

Kingdom Group Protective Services, which provides security for Walgreens, said in a statement it was cooperating with law enforcement and could not comment further.

State records show that Anthony has been licensed as a security guard since 2012.

Jenkins became district attorney last year after voters ousted her predecessor Chesa Boudin over criticism that he was too soft on crime. She promised to be a fair but tough prosecutor who would not ignore blatant retail thefts and open-air drug dealing.

___

Los Angeles Associated Press reporter Christopher Weber contributed.

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* YTD quotes as of May 8th midday regular trading session.

After three COVID-dampened years, 2023 reignited the security industry’s long-running RSA conference in San Francisco (April 24-27). For the first time in years, attendees were excited not only to meet up with friends, but also to tour the booths of over 600 vendors in the exhibition space. There are practical freebies like t-shirts with cheeky sayings and books, coupled with mascots, card tricks and an escape artist powering badge scans that will act as clues for business development teams.

From six-figure awards for the highest-quality exhibit space to tastefully curated meals and happy hours, the show provided a week-long physical connection to discuss the enduring themes of threat evolution, security innovations and governance frameworks – only this year with technology layoffs and generative AI tackling the Add macro twists to conversation. Through it all, a few trends shined as potential investment opportunities.

Big Tech and Pure Play safety bets. A decade of security acquisitions and internal innovation has deepened Big Tech’s expertise in what was once a specialized company. In 2021 alone, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft spent $2.4 billion funding or acquiring 23 cybersecurity companies. Notably, Microsoft’s security business surpassed $15 billion in revenue last April, a revenue performance few pure-play security companies matched then or now. Stocks* of Alphabet (GOOGL +17.83%), Amazon (AMZN +19.45%), Apple (AAPL +48.48%), Meta (META +107.54%) and Microsoft (MSFT +67.22). %) all trended up year-on-year. Date compared to a mixed sample of security-only vendors including Akamai (AKAM -6.19%), CrowdStrike (CRWD +27.51%), F5 (FFIV -10.73%), Palo Alto Networks (PANW +51, 95%) and Check Point (CHKP -5.34%). Investors reward safety stocks for the most part, but the top performers are mega caps with other companies that can share a huge install base.

Newcomers add security. Phishing is still the main threat vector, but there was a critical mass of vendors on the show floor that went beyond email and endpoints to protect at the hardware and code levels. The age old analogy of bolting doors and windows to secure the home is table stakes. Some of the most exciting innovations at RSA are young, privately held companies that inspect building materials, plumbing, and electrical circuits.

DevSecOps Unicorn Harness brings together siled development and security teams to fix broken code at the heart of all vulnerabilities, “to make it easy to do right and hard to do wrong,” as Field CTO Nick Durkin explained. Another cloud-born vendor, Aqua Security, stops cloud-native attacks that have followed code development to the cloud, a problem that older security vendors were not initially designed to solve. Another vendor, Eclypsium, looks at supply chain uncertainties to find the vulnerabilities that lurk beneath the operating system layer, where most other security solutions typically reside.

AI for security. With the World Economic Forum stating that Generative AI is poised to eliminate 14 million jobs in 5 years, the technology presents a huge target for bad actors, creating a need to secure it. While AI can speed up deepfakes and misinformation, it can also improve security. One example is this year’s winner of RSA’s Innovation Sandbox competition. HiddenLayer monitors a client’s machine learning algorithms for signs of adversary manipulation. This protects systems from machine learning and algorithm drift poisoning, attacks designed to mislead teams that rely on this data to make bad decisions. “The consequences can be severe,” noted Alex Doll, founding partner of TenEleven Ventures. False data could prompt a regional bank, from which many are losing deposits, to approve mortgages and loans to unqualified applicants, increasing its solvency risks. “If the data inputs are corrupted or compromised, so are the outputs.”

RSA 2023 instilled a renewed sense of excitement and energy from booth staff and visitors. Each new security vendor that diversifies security beyond the operating system provides customers with a solution to adapt to the evolving threat landscape.

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The new Ikea furniture store in downtown San Francisco will be under 24-hour surveillance, the retailer announced Monday.

“The safety of our employees and customers is always a top priority for Ikea. Ikea San Francisco, which will be part of a new Ingka Centers hangout on Market Street, will be manned with a security team at all times,” an Ikea spokesman said in an email.

The new Market Street store could open as early as May in the building previously known as the 6×6 Mall, although the company now says it will open in the coming months. Previous information said the store would be open by the end of 2023.

“We seek excellent partnerships with all local, state and federal agencies, including law enforcement, and work with them as the situation warrants,” said an Ikea spokesman. “As we vigorously move forward with construction, we remain committed to the site and will be sharing our exciting plans for IKEA San Francisco’s grand opening ceremony in the coming months.”

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