Particle.news
Download on the App Store

San Rafael Officer Acquitted in 2022 Use-of-Force Case as City Moves to Reinstate Him

The verdict prompts POST to restore his peace-officer certification, clearing the way for a return to duty.

Overview

  • A Marin County jury on Tuesday found Brandon Nail not guilty of felony assault causing great bodily injury and of filing a false police report after a weeks-long trial.
  • District Attorney Lori Frugoli said the case needed jury determination and her office accepts the verdict.
  • City officials said POST will reinstate Nail’s certificate, obligating San Rafael to return him to duty after an arbitrator had already ordered reinstatement with back pay.
  • The 2022 Canal neighborhood encounter began as an open-container check of day laborers, led to injuries that Julio Jimenez Lopez said included a concussion, a broken nose and shoulder surgery, and body-camera footage fueled community outcry.
  • Lopez’s civil rights lawsuit was settled with a $999,000 payment by the city, and charges against co-officer Daisy Mazariegos were dismissed in 2024.