In a tense Monday hearing inside Department 16 of San Francisco Superior Court, jurors watched body‑worn camera footage that put SFPD Sgt. Brendan Caraway’s tactics and choice of words under a harsh spotlight. The video shows officers kicking and pounding on an apartment door while Caraway taunts the people inside, threatens to knock the door down and even mocks the accused over whether he can afford food. The defendant is on trial for charges that include possession of a firearm after a prior felony conviction and obstructing or resisting an executive officer, and the jury is now hearing cross‑examination that defense attorneys say exposes gaps in both the investigation and how the scene was handled.
Deputy Public Defender John Paul Passaglia zeroed in on the conduct caught on camera and played a roughly nine‑minute body‑worn video clip during cross‑examination, according to reporting by Davis Vanguard. On the stand, Caraway conceded that he probably wasn’t the most professional person at the door and confirmed that officers used a ruse to coax the occupants into opening it. The footage also shows officers failing to identify themselves as police during the encounter, a detail defense lawyers leaned on as they questioned the thoroughness of the original investigation.
Use‑of‑Force Policy vs. Courtroom Footage
Defense counsel brought out San Francisco Police Department General Order 5.01.02, the department’s use‑of‑force policy that emphasizes safeguarding life, communication and de‑escalation, and pressed Caraway on whether his tactics matched those expectations. As laid out by San Francisco Police Department policy, officers are supposed to attempt de‑escalation when feasible, document any force used and rely on supervisors to ensure the rules are followed. Caraway told internal investigators that he believed the policy did not apply to this situation and testified in court that he was not a use-of-force expert, a combination that defense lawyers used to attack how the initial review of the incident was conducted.
Footage Shows Ruse, Taunts and Threats
The portion of the body‑worn video played for jurors captures Caraway saying, “you understand nobody can do shit if I knock this door down,” telling the girlfriend that her father would stop paying rent and taunting the accused as “too big to be hiding behind the door,” according to Davis Vanguard. Defense attorneys argued that officers zeroed in on the accused while giving short shrift to an earlier statement from the complaining witness, who allegedly threatened to “poke your fucking eyes out.” Prosecutors, for their part, called Caraway as a witness in their case, and proceedings in Department 16 are continuing.
Sergeant’s History and Public Records
Caraway’s name has surfaced before in public records, which now form a backdrop to his current testimony. A 2024 federal civil‑rights lawsuit in the Northern District of California lists him as a defendant, according to US Courts, and a San Francisco Police Department notice includes him among officers who received departmental honors. Those documents are not part of the criminal charges in this case but do add context as jurors evaluate credibility and as investigators revisit the arrest and the internal use‑of‑force interview.
What Happens Next
The trial is still underway and no verdict has been reached. More testimony is expected as prosecutors and defense attorneys continue to spar over what unfolded on Aug. 17, 2025. Jurors will ultimately weigh the body‑worn camera footage, Caraway’s testimony and the defense claim that other reported threats were brushed aside that night. Depending on how those questions are resolved, the case could trigger additional scrutiny of supervisory conduct and the way internal interviews and use‑of‑force reviews are carried out inside the department.
