I-Team talks with homeless man at center of San Leandro police ‘dumping’ controversy

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. (KGO) — The ABC7 Eyewitness News I-Team has tracked down a homeless man at the center of a controversy involving San Leandro police, prompting renewed calls for accountability after newly obtained body camera video showed how officers handled him despite no crime being committed.

“It’s hard to talk about. It’s hard to even grasp the situation because I didn’t think nothing like that would happen to me,” Shaquille Coleman told ABC7 Eyewitness I-Team’s Dan Noyes.

San Leandro police handcuffed Coleman, a 33-year-old homeless man, in December 2024, pushed and pulled him into a patrol car – ripping out his braids – then drove him seven miles into Oakland and left him there at night, according to the video obtained by the ITeam.

From the day the video was obtained, ITeam reporter Dan Noyes searched for Coleman. That effort led to San Francisco’s Tenderloin, where J.J. Smith, the owner of the Tenderloin Deli, saw tthe I-Team’s report and arranged a meeting.

Dan Noyes: “How’d this come about, J.J.?”
J.J. SMITH: “Oh, I told you I always see him in the neighborhood, I know him. We talk all the time.”

Coleman is now living on the streets of the Tenderloin. He lost an eye in a shooting a few years ago and was in poor condition at the time of the meeting.

Shaquille Coleman: “The thing is I got stabbed like two nights ago.”
Noyes: “On your arm? Damn, still bleeding, huh?”
Coleman: “Sixty-three stitches, yup.”

When Coleman learned that Noyes had obtained the body camera video of the incident, he asked to see the report. After watching for only a few seconds, he became emotional and asked to stop.

“I can’t watch this, bro,” Coleman said.

Coleman asked for a day to compose himself and meet again.

“However we go forward from here, that’s all that matters. I don’t want to speak on the past. This s**t is even too hard to look at. I don’t want to talk about it. It’s just making me depressed, bruh.”

Coleman told us he would like to file a lawsuit over how police mistreated him, and that he’d like to discuss it further.

“I do have a lot to say. So, tomorrow or whenever you’re ready, I’ll be ready. I got a lot to say.”

Noyes returned at the agreed time the following day, but Coleman did not appear. That same night, a crowd spoke in support of Coleman at a BART Police Civilian Review Board meeting.

“I’m going to guess you all are sitting in these seats, because those are not the kinds of cops that you want on our streets” said Cat Brooks, co-founder of the Anti-Police Terror Project.

Speakers focused on San Leandro police Lt. Antwinette Turner, who oversaw Coleman’s detention and approved the decision to leave him in Oakland away from any BART station, according to the video.

Antwinette Turner, San Leandro police lieutenant: “Why not the BART station?”
Suzanne Mann: “Because then he’d just come back.”
Turner: “Right, get on that s**t and go.”
Mann: “No, he’s just going to come back and be a problem, lieutenant. (laughter).”
Turner: “I just want this dude to get out of here.”
Mann: “I will get him out of here and there’s no BART station, it’s going to take him awhile to get back from over there.”

Antwinette Turner is now the BART Police Deputy Chief in charge of Progressive Policing and Community Engagement.

Some speakers criticized her demeanor during the incident, pointing to moments where she appeared to smile on camera.

“And the lieutenant thought it was funny. She laughing while this man is being violated and disrespected. Is she getting paid my hard earned tax money to laugh while she playing games and laughing at this man getting violated, ain’t did nothing?” said Robert Bowden from the ‘All of Us or None’ organization.

After the meeting, Noyes questioned BART Police Chief Kevin Franklin, who defended Turner’s hiring.

“And I have confidence that she is able to lead and grow our progressive police and community engagement bureau,” Franklin said.

Franklin said he was aware of the Coleman incident as part of Turner’s background check but had not seen the body camera footage.

Noyes: “So you knew about that incident?”
Kevin Franklin: “Yes, sir.”
Noyes: “Had you seen the bodycam video?”
Franklin: “No, I haven’t.”
Noyes: “Was there anything on the body cam video that concerned you?”
Franklin: “I’m not going to discuss the San Leandro investigation because that is their investigation. But we did conduct a thorough background investigation.”
Noyes: “Yeah, without seeing the bodycam video, though, you didn’t see the bodycam video. How was that that thorough?”

The BART police board decided Tuesday to place the issue on its agenda for next month.

We also called and emailed Antwinette Turner and did not hear back.

Noyes said he will continue trying to track down Coleman and follow whether he ultimately files a lawsuit.