San Diego officials are poised to approve an $875,000 settlement to resolve a civil rights lawsuit filed by Marcus Evans, a 32-year-old man shot with bean bag rounds and mauled by a police dog during an incident on October 24, 2024. The case, captured on video and confirmed by multiple local outlets, has triggered heated discussions over police tactics, public transparency, and accountability.
“This settlement doesn’t give me back my leg or my peace of mind,”
Evans said through his attorney, Dante Pride of the Pride Law Firm.
“But it’s a step toward justice and a reminder that what happened that night was wrong.”
Police officers responded to a 911 call claiming Evans had threatened a woman with a gun at his home on Duluth Avenue near Encanto. Video obtained by CBS8 and SIDEO.TV shows Evans emerging barefoot, shirtless, and with his hands raised, repeatedly stating he was unarmed and asking why police were there.
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Despite his compliance, officers fired three bean bag shotgun rounds, hitting Evans in the torso, shin, and groin area. Moments later, a police K-9 was deployed and bit Evans’s left arm, violently jerking it as he screamed for help.
No gun was found at the scene, and Evans was never charged with a crime.
Evans suffered a broken right tibia, bruised ribs, tendon damage, and lasting harm to his arm from the dog bite. He filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging excessive force and violations of constitutional protections.
“The video shows a man surrendering and yet being treated like a threat,”
Pride said.
“We cannot allow this level of force against compliant, unarmed individuals.”
San Diego City Council will cast its ballot on the settlement of the case for $875,000 on September 9, 2025. The city would settle Evans’s lawsuit with the payment if it passes but would not admit to fault.
Beyond Evans’s case, the First Amendment Coalition (FAC) has sued the City of San Diego for withholding police records and body-camera footage related to the incident. Under California’s transparency laws, agencies must release records when police force results in “great bodily injury” or involves firearm discharges criteria FAC argues this case meets.
“Public trust depends on public access,”
said David Loy, FAC’s legal director.
“The city cannot hide behind secrecy when force of this magnitude is used.”
National reports find such movements frequently lead to severe injures analysis of bean bag rounds by the New England Journal of Medicine finds they can penetrate skin, shatter bones, and lead to internal bleeding. Studies by the ACLU and the Marshall Project uncover police K-9 bites send thousands of individuals to emergency rooms annually, disproportionately among men and minorities.
Area advocacy groups have pushed for policy changes, including more stringent controls on bean bag shotguns and dog deployments. Others have pushed for a blanket ban on K-9 takedowns.
The City Council on September 9 will determine if the settlement ends up with Evans. Meanwhile, the police watchdog group FAC’s lawsuit continues its push for the release of full body-camera video and internal reports. The police department has said nothing, invoking ongoing litigation.
“This is not just about Marcus,”
Pride said.
“It’s how San Diego polices its people, how it investigates itself, and if we’re serious about transparency and accountability.”
