SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 3.19.2026
At least the San Francisco City Attorney is displaying a bit of empathy.
Knowing full well the incident resulting in the death of a SFPD recruit Jon-Marques Psalms in 2025 is an embarrassment to the City and the SFPD. This wrongful death litigation will never go to Trial. The City will pay the grieving family.
The buried lede in San Francisco Chronicle article 3.19.2026
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/police-recruit-death-lawsuit-22083884.php
“The Code of Silence is alive and well at SFPD,” wrote Brad Gage, an attorney for the Psalms family. “Snitches get stitches and rats are targeted for retaliation.”
Spokespersons for the SFPD said they were precluded from commenting on the lawsuit due to ongoing litigation and referred all questions to the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. In a statement, city attorney spokesperson Jen Kwart called Psalms’ death “a tragedy.”
“Our thoughts are with his loved ones,” Kwart said. “We will review the complaint and respond in court.”
Excerpted from San Francisco Chronicle 3.19.2026
The family of a 30-year-old San Francisco Police Department recruit who died after a intense training exercise last year sued the city this week, alleging his death could have been prevented with safety protocols — and that his family was misled about the severity of his injuries.
Christina and Marcus Psalms accused the city of battery, assault, wrongful death, negligent supervision and other actions in the August 2025 death of their son, Jon-Marques Psalms.
Psalms, who joined the SFPD academy just three months before his death, died two days after collapsing during an endurance training exercise called a “red man” drill, which involves recruits wrestling in full-body padded suits to simulate hand-to-hand combat.
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