Alameda County sheriff’s deputy fired in connection with beating

A poster of Stanislav Petrov, 29, in a hospital bed is shown during a press conference, in Oakland, California, on Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Petrov was beaten in an alley on November 12, 2015 by Alameda County Sheriff deputies and his lawyers plan to file a federal civil rights lawsuit. less A poster of Stanislav Petrov, 29, in a hospital bed is shown during a press conference, in Oakland, California, on Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Petrov was beaten in an alley on November 12, 2015 by Alameda County ... more Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Alameda County sheriff’s deputy fired in connection with beating 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

An Alameda County sheriff’s deputy was fired Friday, eight months after he allegedly grabbed a gold chain from a fugitive who was beaten by deputies in a San Francisco alley, sources close to the incident said.

Deputy Shawn Osborne, a 19-year veteran, “is no longer with the department,” Sgt. Ray Kelly said.

Osborne was one of three deputies involved in the Nov. 12 apprehension of Stanislav Petrov, who had led deputies on a 38-minute chase from Castro Valley after ramming two patrol cruisers in a rental car whose lease had expired.

The other two deputies, Luis Santamaria and Paul Wieber, who appear on a surveillance video to have conducted the beating, remain on leave. Osborne was fired, sources said, after a close examination of the video showed him in possession of a gold chain belonging to Petrov. Two bystanders who witnessed the beating later said they had been given the chain in exchange for their silence.

That conduct by Osborne was “so far outside the scope of reasonable conduct,” whereas the other two deputies’ actions could be arguably in the realm of force allowed by law, the source said.

Investigators are still examining evidence in connection with other aspects of the beating. Possible criminal charges are being considered by the San Francisco district attorney’s office.

An attorney for Osborne said the deputy denied wrongdoing.

“The departmental misconduct investigation remains ongoing, with no final determinations having yet been made. Once completed, Deputy Osborne is confident that he will be exonerated of the theft and bribery allegations. Deputy Osborne has served the department with distinction and honor for nearly 20 years, and is committed to clearing both his name and the department’s reputation of these spurious allegations,” said attorney Alison Berry Wilkinson.

In the video, Santamaria and Wieber knock Petrov to the ground, punch him and club him with their batons, even after he appeared to surrender with his hands on his head. According to Petrov’s attorney, he suffered broken hand bones, head wounds and a concussion.

San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi had said that the video shows Osborne “twirling what looks like a metallic necklace, consistent with the necklace that was taken from Petrov and given to the homeless couple. It looks like he picked it up from where the beating occurred, and he starts walking to the area where the homeless couple says it was given to them.”

Wilkinson had said the footage was of poor quality, that Osborne did not arrive until later and that theft and bribery allegations were “absolutely outrageous.”

Steve Rubenstein and Kimberly Veklerov are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com and kveklerov@sfchronicle.com