Security footage showing the brutal beating of a suspect by two police officers in San Francisco’s Mission District has sparked anger and comparisons to the 1991 assault of Rodney King in Los Angeles.

The beating of the suspect, 26-year-old Stanislav Petrov, by two Alameda County officers is under investigation, and two public defenders have called for criminal charges.



The Alameda County sheriff’s office said Petrov was in a stolen vehicle when he fled authorities, smashed a police cruiser and was chased through San Leandro, Oakland and San Francisco. It was in an alley in San Francisco where the officers caught up with him, and repeatedly struck him with their fists and batons.



The video of the beating shows one deputy knocking the man to the ground near Clinton Park and Stevenson Street early on Thursday. The deputy then punches Petrov, who is lying on the ground. A second deputy then uses his baton to hit the man on the head. Petrov is heard screaming for help as both officers use their batons to hit him. Petrov is still in the hospital, according to Jeff Adachi, the San Francisco public defender.

Adachi has called for criminal charges to be brought against the officers involved. His office released the video to the public on Friday, which sparked public frustration amid a national debate over police officers’ use of force.

“The video is shocking in its brutality,” Adachi said in a statement. “The relentless baton strikes on a prone, injured man are reminiscent of the Rodney King beating. As a society, we must stand up for due process and reject the notion that police are entitled to beat a person bloody if he runs or makes them angry.”



Patrick Jensen, the deputy public defender in Alameda county where the officers began their 38-minute car chase, told the Guardian on Tuesday that the current investigation being conducted by the San Francisco police department was a “positive development”.

“The two officers should get due process of the law even though they

were unwilling to give Petrov the same,” Jensen said. “They should answer to a jury and explain why they did what they did.”





In February, police officers fatally shot a suspect in a bicycle theft in the Mission after he allegedly brandished a knife. The killing has been controversial because the authorities said the officers fired in self-defense, but the victim’s family says witnesses and an autopsy show he was shot in the back.

According to SFPD spokesman Albie Esparza, the officers “are being investigated for use of force”. He added that the names of the deputies, who are on administrative leave, would remain confidential by law unless criminal charges are filed.

The media office for the Alameda County sheriff’s office did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. But over the weekend, a spokesman, Sgt JD Nelson, said that the deputies on the video filed use-of-force reports and that they believed Petrov was on drugs and were unsure of what he was able to do.