License Plates

Denise Green had just dropped off her sister at the 24th Street Mission BART station after picking her up from the hospital. Green, who was driving a 1992 red Lexus, noticed a San Francisco police car with its lights on pull up behind her as she passed through the intersection of Mission Street and Highland Avenue. Green pulled over to let the patrol car pass. She was stunned when officers yelled, “Put your hands up!” Sgt. Ja Han Kim ordered her to step out of the car, and as Green complied, she turned and saw several officers with their guns trained on her. “Don’t look at us!” one of them said. “Turn around!” the officers shouted, forcing Green to her knees. They handcuffed her and searched her Lexus. Green overheard officers standing near her license plate shouting numbers to each other.