Man says SFPD officers beat him for no reason

San Francisco - San Francisco police officers brutally attacked a man for no reason at Fisherman's Wharf as he was consoling his girlfriend over a stolen wallet, his attorneys and mother said Friday.

Dacari Spires suffered serious injuries after the Oct. 6 confrontation near Jefferson and Powell streets. The incident is under investigation by police and the district attorney's office.

"What happened to my son shouldn't have happened," said Spires' mother, Tyra Mathis. "And just like all other mothers all around this entire nation, this has got to stop."

It happened at as Spires was on a date with his girlfriend. At some point, the woman realized someone had stolen her wallet from her purse.

"As she was upset, he was hugging her, trying to console her," Curtis Briggs, an attorney for Spires said at a news conference outside the San Francisco Hall of Justice.

That's when officers on a routine patrol showed up. 

"The police officers drove up, ran over to Dacari, pulled him away from her, pushed him down into the bushes, began yelling at him, beating him," Briggs said.

After handcuffing him, his attorneys say the officers continued to hit him.

"He was beaten with billy clubs, or batons, numerous times, shattered his wrist, broke his tibia and created multiple lacerations which required stitches," said attorney Michael Seville.

Spires underwent emergency surgery and now uses a wheelchair.

"Somebody needs to tell me why. Why he got a plate in his leg. Why he got pins in his arm. Why he can't walk. Why he undergoing physical therapy. Somebody's got some explaining to do," Mathis said.

Jamir Davis, another attorney for Spires agreed, saying, "The attack did not happen by a gang. It did not happen by thugs. It did not happen by a hate group. But it occurred at the hands of those who are paid to protect and serve us."

Spires was not arrested.

"This is essentially a beating which has been completely unjustified," Briggs said.

Spires is an Uber driver who has worked as a peer counselor, helping to deescalate tensions between police and youth.

In a statement, San Francisco police said, "The SFPD and the San Francisco district attorney's office are conducting independent investigations into the incident.  By policy, the SFPD does not comment on open investigations."

A lawyer represending the officers involved issued a statement on Friday saying the story from Spires attorney is, "utter fiction." The attorney, Nicole Pifary, characterized Spires as a violent person, adding: "The fine officers inolved in this matter responded to a cry for help, were met with violence and responded accordingly." 

Spires' attorneys say they intend to file a federal civil rights lawsuit.