The San Francisco Department of Police Accountability released a report Monday finding two police officers used excessive force in a 2024 arrest.
The report was completed in February but released this Monday. It finds that officers Jonathan Zepeda and Vinesh Govindbhai violated several department policies in the arrest of 48-year-old Matthew Ludwig.
The arrest began on the Fourth of July in 2024, when the two SFPD officers noticed Ludwig driving a Honda Accord in the Tenderloin. According to the report, the officers entered an incorrect license plate number into their computers, leading them to believe Ludwig was driving a stolen vehicle.
When Ludwig stopped for a red light, officers broke his car’s window. Body cam footage shows officers pulling Ludwig from the car and discharging a pepper spray canister inches from his face while he was held down on a sidewalk.
A representative of the SFPD wrote Mission Local that the department is unable to provide a statement at the moment, due to “pending litigation.”
According to a representative of the City Attorney’s Office, the city “has not been served with a lawsuit on this matter.”
Officers Zepeda and Govindbhai are still employed by the police department. According to Transparent California, Zepeda and Govindbhai respectively earned $238,824 and $296,140 in total SFPD pay and overtime in 2024.
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