The San Diego Police Department has released the conclusions of a controversial internal affairs investigation of a 2024 arrest.
Concerned San Diegans filed complaints after officers’ use of a beanbag shotgun and police K-9s left an unarmed Marcus Evans in the hospital.
KPBS has been requesting the records since July. It’s unclear when police published the findings; KPBS found them during a routine search of the case documents.
The investigation found that the release of K-9s by Sgt. Alan Dyemartin and Officer Robert Nelson, and the second and third lead-filled beanbag rounds shot at Evans by Officer Ashley Bennett, did not follow police policy for use of force. It found when that force was used, Evans was only passively resisting the officers.
“While seated, Marcus did not make threats to physically resist arrest and he made no furtive movements indictive (sic) of attempting to access a concealed weapon,” Internal Affairs Detective Sgt. Eric McCoole wrote.
After Bennett fired the second beanbag shot and the first K-9 failed to bite Evans, “Marcus’ behavior did not change,” he wrote. “Marcus told Sergeant Dyemartin he was not going to cooperate, he remained seated on the step, and he kept his hands in a position indicative that he was not going to attack the officers or the public. Again, Marcus displayed passive resistance. This is also confirmed by the use of force expert opinion.”
According to the report, police protocol requires at minimum that someone must be “displaying active resistance” — like running away or bracing — and officers must have “reasonable belief that the subject has access to a weapon” in order to release a K-9 or fire a beanbag shotgun at the person.
The investigation also found that Lt. Meghan Bisesto and Sgt. Alan Dyemartin and Acting Sgt. John Sullivan “failed in their duty to properly manage” the incident.
The rest of the allegations in the case were cleared or could not be proven.
Internal Affairs told the department to serve discipline or “notice of adverse action” to Dyemartin, Nelson, Bennett and Sullivan by Sept. 8, 2026.
SDPD has not yet responded to KPBS’ questions about the findings, including whether any officers filed a rebuttal, and why there was no discipline memo for Bisesto included in the released documents.
