The family of Banko Brown, the 24-year-old trans man shot and killed outside a Market Street Walgreens in 2023, will receive $5 million from the security guard who shot him and the guard's employer, according to a motion filed in San Francisco Superior Court on Thursday, November 12, 2026. The settlement resolves claims against the guard, Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony, and his employer, Kingdom Group Protective Services, while claims against Walgreens, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Allied Universal Security Services remain unresolved. The wrongful-death case had sought at least $25 million in damages and helped push the city to rewrite its rules on armed security guards.
According to SFGATE, Brown's family will get the $5 million from guard Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony and his employer, Kingdom Group Protective Services. Ben Nisenbaum, the attorney representing Brown's parents, Terry Brown and Kevinisha Henderson, confirmed that both sides had agreed to the settlement, per the same report. The settlement terms include complete dismissal of the complaint against Kingdom and Anthony, though Walgreens, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Allied Universal Security Services have not reached a settlement agreement with the family, the outlet notes.
Brown was shot on April 27, 2023, outside the Walgreens on Market Street in downtown San Francisco after allegedly shoplifting snacks and getting into a brief argument with Anthony. The wrongful-death complaint, filed by Nisenbaum's firm, Burris, Nisenbaum, Curry and Lacy, states that Brown stood 5-foot-4, weighed about 155 pounds, and was unarmed when he was killed. Brown had grown up in San Francisco and organized with the Young Women's Freedom Center, which supports women and trans youth.
Conflicting Accounts of What Sparked the Confrontation
Accounts of the alleged shoplifting differ on the value of what Brown was accused of trying to take. The San Francisco Standard reported that attorneys for Brown's family said he had been attempting to steal about $14 worth of food items, while SFist described the items as $15 worth of candy.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins declined to bring charges against Anthony, finding that he believed he was in mortal danger and acted in self-defense, the Standard reported at the time. The wrongful-death complaint, dated May 25, 2023, named Anthony, Kingdom Group Protective Services, Allied Universal Security Services, Walgreens and Walgreens Boots Alliance as responsible parties, and it alleged negligent hiring, training and supervision of Anthony.
Guard's Training and Walgreens Directives Under Scrutiny
Anthony had started working with Kingdom in 2022 and received all of his security guard training over Zoom, according to the complaint. A Kingdom executive said Walgreens store management at individual locations frequently pressured security officers to violate Kingdom policies, and a court email cited in the complaint shows Walgreens directed Kingdom guards across Northern California to begin stopping shoplifters starting April 13, 2023 — just two weeks before Brown was killed.
Brown's killing sparked nationwide outrage and fueled a movement to disarm city security guards and overhaul armed-guard training. His family rallied and marched to San Francisco City Hall after his death. Kingdom security guards were disarmed at Walgreens stores in San Francisco by May 4, 2023, and the company was removed as the contracted security provider at the store later that year. Walgreens ultimately canceled its contract with Kingdom entirely, per the Standard.
City Rewrote Rules on When Guards Can Draw Weapons
In October 2023, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to amend the city's police code so that armed guards could only draw their firearms in response to a threat to a person, not to protect property, SFist reported. Under San Francisco Police Code § 1750.19, drawing a firearm is unlawful except in response to an actual and specific threat to a person or persons.
The $5 million settlement resolves the claims against Anthony and Kingdom, but the case against Walgreens, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Allied Universal Security Services remains unresolved, as those parties have not reached an agreement with Brown's family.
