San Francisco Report Finds 2 Officers Used Excessive Force After License-Plate Typo
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 12
San Francisco Report Finds 2 Officers Used Excessive Force After License-Plate Typo
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 12
Summary
A San Francisco police watchdog found two officers used excessive force in the July 2024 mistaken arrest of driver Matthew Ludwig, saying they violated multiple department policies.
A single license-plate typo in the patrol car computer led officers to wrongly treat Ludwig’s car as stolen before they smashed a window, dragged him out, tackled him, pepper-sprayed him and handcuffed him.
The report said officers sprayed Ludwig at close range and drew a firearm without cause, underscoring that the force stemmed from the officers’ own error rather than any confirmed threat.
More than 1 year after the stop, prosecutors were still pursuing reckless-driving and resisting-arrest charges against Ludwig; 14 months after the encounter, he was found dead in Kentucky in an apparent suicide.
The investigation began after the San Francisco public defender’s office, which represented Ludwig, filed a complaint with the city’s Department of Police Accountability.