Newly obtained surveillance video from the night 40-year-old Gabriel Jesus Garza died outside Star Bar in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter is intensifying public concern over the San Diego Police Department’s use-of-force practices. The footage shows officers handcuffing Garza, placing him face down on the sidewalk, and maintaining body-weight pressure on him for nearly eight minutes, well after he had stopped moving, until paramedics arrived and found him unresponsive without a pulse.
In California, law enforcement agencies have long warned against compressive prone positioning due to its association with asphyxia. While SDPD banned carotid restraints following statewide legislation, the department’s policies still do not explicitly prohibit the type of prolonged prone pressure seen in Garza’s final minutes.
This incident surfaces at a time when Officer Phipps is already a central figure in multiple recent policing controversies. Earlier this summer, local DJ and entertainer Chad Allen alleged that Phipps repeatedly stopped him for vehicle-modification violations that other officers later dismissed as baseless. Allen described the pattern as harassment and claimed Phipps told him he would continue issuing citations “every time” he saw him.
Just days later, Phipps appeared in another widely circulated video involving members of San Diego’s streetwear collective Sex Appeal Clothing Co. The group claims officers followed them through the Gaslamp Quarter, blocked access to legal parking spots, and escalated tensions before deploying pepper spray into a crowd and tackling one member face-first into a curb. Witnesses said the officers’ conduct was aggressive and disproportionate from the outset, and no criminal charges were ultimately filed against the group. In statements to SanDiegoVille, members said they felt profiled and targeted, describing the encounter as “harassment disguised as enforcement.”
Earlier this year, the San Diego County Medical Examiner ruled Garza’s death a homicide, citing cardiopulmonary arrest while physically restrained. Although the report referenced several potential contributing factors, the Examiner was unequivocal in identifying the restraining force as the cause of death.
Garza’s family filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit in March naming the City of San Diego, SDPD, and Officers Jacob Phipps and Noah McLemore as defendants. The complaint argues that the officers violated Garza’s constitutional rights, used a restraint technique well-documented as dangerous for years, and failed to employ de-escalation or medical assessment during an apparent mental health crisis. Both officers remain employed by the department.
The newly surfaced surveillance footage, published this week by CBS 8, adds powerful visual context to the lawsuit’s allegations. For nearly 30 minutes before SDPD arrived, a security guard and another man had placed Garza on his back in an effort to calm him. According to the footage, Garza was subdued, unarmed, and no longer a threat when Officer Phipps arrived. Instead of de-escalating or assessing his medical state, Phipps rolled Garza onto his stomach. Garza appeared confused and complained about missing property, but did not resist.
The newly surfaced surveillance footage, published this week by CBS 8, adds powerful visual context to the lawsuit’s allegations. For nearly 30 minutes before SDPD arrived, a security guard and another man had placed Garza on his back in an effort to calm him. According to the footage, Garza was subdued, unarmed, and no longer a threat when Officer Phipps arrived. Instead of de-escalating or assessing his medical state, Phipps rolled Garza onto his stomach. Garza appeared confused and complained about missing property, but did not resist.
The video shows Phipps positioned primarily on Garza’s back, using his knee and body weight to pin him while Garza, handcuffed and motionless, lay prone on the pavement. Within seconds, Officer McLemore also applied pressure to Garza’s legs.
The footage also shows a critical and deeply troubling sequence: after Officer Phipps asks Garza for his name and receives no response - a notable shift from the first several minutes of the encounter, during which Garza was speaking clearly and repeatedly - Phipps remains kneeling on Garza’s back for more than 90 seconds. During this period, Garza is silent, unmoving, and offering no signs of resistance. Instead of interpreting the sudden lack of responsiveness as a medical emergency, the officers maintain the compressive prone restraint until paramedics arrive.
This incident surfaces at a time when Officer Phipps is already a central figure in multiple recent policing controversies. Earlier this summer, local DJ and entertainer Chad Allen alleged that Phipps repeatedly stopped him for vehicle-modification violations that other officers later dismissed as baseless. Allen described the pattern as harassment and claimed Phipps told him he would continue issuing citations “every time” he saw him.
Just days later, Phipps appeared in another widely circulated video involving members of San Diego’s streetwear collective Sex Appeal Clothing Co. The group claims officers followed them through the Gaslamp Quarter, blocked access to legal parking spots, and escalated tensions before deploying pepper spray into a crowd and tackling one member face-first into a curb. Witnesses said the officers’ conduct was aggressive and disproportionate from the outset, and no criminal charges were ultimately filed against the group. In statements to SanDiegoVille, members said they felt profiled and targeted, describing the encounter as “harassment disguised as enforcement.”
These recent incidents, combined with Garza’s death, have amplified public concerns about SDPD’s oversight practices, disciplinary transparency, and the management of officers whose conduct repeatedly draws controversy. According to Transparent California, Phipps’ total compensation rose from approximately $115,000 in 2022 to nearly $165,000 in 2024, including more than $45,000 in overtime, prompting additional questions about deployment decisions and supervision.
Despite the growing scrutiny, San Diego law enforcement officials have not responded to press inquiries seeking comment or clarification. SanDiegoVille emailed SDPD representatives on July 23, 2025, with detailed questions about Phipps’ history, the July incidents, and whether the officer remains on active duty. No response was ever received from SDPD, SD Sheriff’s Department, or the City Attorney’s Office.
The lack of official communication parallels the City of San Diego’s near-total refusal to release public records related to Phipps and McLemore, even those expressly required by state law to be disclosed. On July 15, 2025, SanDiegoVille filed a California Public Records Act request (Request 25-5414) seeking internal affairs files, complaint history, body-worn camera footage, dispatcher records, and related materials concerning Officer Phipps. The request also covered the Garza incident and both viral Gaslamp encounters.
Although California Senate Bills 1421 and 16 mandate disclosure of records related to police uses of force causing death or great bodily injury, the City denied the requests in full, invoking broad investigative exemptions that courts have repeatedly rejected for use in use-of-force cases. The City also declined to provide any redacted records or segregable factual content, as required by law, nor did it supply a record-by-record explanation - often called a Vaughn index - detailing why each document was withheld.
In response, SanDiegoVille issued a challenge arguing that complete nondisclosure violates statutory transparency mandates, that the City must release body-worn camera footage and certain investigative materials regardless of ongoing proceedings, and that any remaining exemptions must be narrowly applied. The City responded to the challenge: "The San Diego Police Department stands by its determination of the exemptions cited."
For the family of Gabriel Garza, the systemic silence is its own form of injury. His older brother, Carlos, has said publicly that the surveillance video confirms his longstanding belief that “police force was unnecessary from the start” and that Garza was effectively restrained twice - first by civilians, then by officers who escalated the situation instead of stabilizing it. In statement after statement, he has called for justice, accountability, and a broader reckoning with how police interact with people experiencing mental health crises.
Legal experts note that San Diego’s use-of-force controversies often occur in the Gaslamp Quarter, where nightlife activity, alcohol consumption, and heavy police presence intersect. While the CBS report raises concerns about individual officers, it also places renewed scrutiny on how SDPD trains officers, supervises those with multiple red flags, and responds when patterns of complaint begin to emerge.
With a federal lawsuit underway, homicide findings by the Medical Examiner, and new video showing the final minutes of Garza’s life with stark clarity, the public’s questions - for both the police department and the City - are accumulating more quickly than officials are answering them. And as transparency challenges mount, the release of body-camera footage and internal records may ultimately come not from voluntary disclosure but through court order.
For now, the silence from city officials stands in stark contrast to what the videos themselves reveal: a man pinned to the pavement, officers’ weight pressing down, breath slipping away, and a community demanding to know how, and why, it was allowed to happen.
Despite the growing scrutiny, San Diego law enforcement officials have not responded to press inquiries seeking comment or clarification. SanDiegoVille emailed SDPD representatives on July 23, 2025, with detailed questions about Phipps’ history, the July incidents, and whether the officer remains on active duty. No response was ever received from SDPD, SD Sheriff’s Department, or the City Attorney’s Office.
The lack of official communication parallels the City of San Diego’s near-total refusal to release public records related to Phipps and McLemore, even those expressly required by state law to be disclosed. On July 15, 2025, SanDiegoVille filed a California Public Records Act request (Request 25-5414) seeking internal affairs files, complaint history, body-worn camera footage, dispatcher records, and related materials concerning Officer Phipps. The request also covered the Garza incident and both viral Gaslamp encounters.
Although California Senate Bills 1421 and 16 mandate disclosure of records related to police uses of force causing death or great bodily injury, the City denied the requests in full, invoking broad investigative exemptions that courts have repeatedly rejected for use in use-of-force cases. The City also declined to provide any redacted records or segregable factual content, as required by law, nor did it supply a record-by-record explanation - often called a Vaughn index - detailing why each document was withheld.
In response, SanDiegoVille issued a challenge arguing that complete nondisclosure violates statutory transparency mandates, that the City must release body-worn camera footage and certain investigative materials regardless of ongoing proceedings, and that any remaining exemptions must be narrowly applied. The City responded to the challenge: "The San Diego Police Department stands by its determination of the exemptions cited."
For the family of Gabriel Garza, the systemic silence is its own form of injury. His older brother, Carlos, has said publicly that the surveillance video confirms his longstanding belief that “police force was unnecessary from the start” and that Garza was effectively restrained twice - first by civilians, then by officers who escalated the situation instead of stabilizing it. In statement after statement, he has called for justice, accountability, and a broader reckoning with how police interact with people experiencing mental health crises.
Legal experts note that San Diego’s use-of-force controversies often occur in the Gaslamp Quarter, where nightlife activity, alcohol consumption, and heavy police presence intersect. While the CBS report raises concerns about individual officers, it also places renewed scrutiny on how SDPD trains officers, supervises those with multiple red flags, and responds when patterns of complaint begin to emerge.
With a federal lawsuit underway, homicide findings by the Medical Examiner, and new video showing the final minutes of Garza’s life with stark clarity, the public’s questions - for both the police department and the City - are accumulating more quickly than officials are answering them. And as transparency challenges mount, the release of body-camera footage and internal records may ultimately come not from voluntary disclosure but through court order.
For now, the silence from city officials stands in stark contrast to what the videos themselves reveal: a man pinned to the pavement, officers’ weight pressing down, breath slipping away, and a community demanding to know how, and why, it was allowed to happen.
Originally published on December 4, 2025.
