Young Black man acquitted by SF jury in ‘Karen’ case
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A young Black man who was racially profiled and falsely accused near his home last year was acquitted by a jury, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office said. Trevon Morgan was walking to a store on the morning of Aug. 24, 2023 near where he lived in the Inner Sunset District when a person who appeared to be mentally ill and unhoused started following him and yelling racial slurs, the public defender’s office said.
Morgan went into the store and when he came out, the harassment continued, escalating into a verbal argument. A bystander, who like the person yelling at Morgan was white, drove up alongside them and took the side of the man who was yelling.
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The bystander called the police, claiming that Morgan had threatened to kill and rob him, and that Morgan had dented his car. None of this was true, the public defender said, or supported by evidence.
In body-worn camera footage, one of the responding officers could be seen expressing skepticism regarding the bystander’s claims. The footage also revealed the man admitting that the damage to his car predated the incident.
Despite this skepticism, Morgan was arrested based on false accusations. He was charged with felony attempted robbery of the bystander’s reading glasses. The judge released him from custody under the condition that he wear an ankle monitor and be subject to home detention.
As a result, Morgan lost his job as a security guard and was not able to provide for his pregnant girlfriend.
“The allegations in this case were reminiscent of other ‘Karen’ cases where someone called the police on a Black person who had done nothing wrong. Here, the complaining witness racially profiled Mr. Morgan, who is Black, assumed the worst about him and falsely accused him of wrongdoing based on the color of his skin,” said Deputy Public Defender Ilona Yañez, who represented Morgan. “Police and prosecutors pursued this case without any corroborating evidence of a crime, despite the numerous glaring red flags as to the complaining witness’s credibility, and in so doing perpetuated this vigilante’s racism.”
A San Francisco jury acquitted Morgan after just 45 minutes of deliberation.
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