SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A federal officer who was knocked unconscious in a Costco parking lot by an off-duty police sergeant over a parking dispute alleges San Diego police engaged in a widespread cover-up to prevent a public relations nightmare, according to an amended lawsuit.
Chu Ding was trying to leave a parking spot at the Costco in Carmel Mountain Ranch in 2024 when San Diego police officer Jonathan Ferraro parked in his way while he waited for a nearby spot, surveillance video shows.
According to the lawsuit filed last week against the city, Ferraro, and several other officers, Ding tapped on the off-duty officer’s truck window. Ferraro, who was wearing plain clothes, got out, called Ding a “Chinese piece of s---" and slammed him to the ground. Ferraro then flashed a badge and identified himself as a San Diego police sergeant.
Several bystanders called 911 to report Ferraro as the attacker, but the lawsuit alleges at least six 911 operators labeled Ding, an off-duty federal immigration officer, as the offender instead.
Media relations officer sent to scene
“While hanging up on one of the callers who complained about Ferraro and chastising another caller for the way he was speaking to Ferraro, a 911 operator and her supervisor stayed on the call with (Ferraro’s wife) Jessica Ferraro to provide emotional support.”
An operator upgraded the incident to a Priority 0 call, triggering an emergency response of 14 officers, including a lieutenant, a sergeant, two detectives, and a media relations spokesperson.
The lawsuit alleges department leadership knew the incident would dominate the news cycle if the public or Ding contacted the media.
“The news that an off-duty SDPD officer had screamed a racial epithet and body-slammed a federal officer, knocking him out, would be a public relations nightmare.”
“In order to get ahead of this problem, the spokesperson for the department responded to the scene to coordinate the optics. The only way to prevent Mr. Ding from criticizing the department was to get him to admit to wrongdoing,” the lawsuit added.
Some of the responding officers turned off or muted their body-worn cameras when speaking to Ferraro.
The lawsuit alleges officers took Ding, who had a fractured rib, to the Northeastern substation. Detectives then put him in an interrogation room and showed him grainy surveillance video claiming it showed Ding punched Ferraro.
“Ferraro had denied multiple times that Mr. Ding punched him. Not a single witness saw Mr. Ding punch Ferraro,” the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit alleges officers then coerced Ding, who was arrested on a felony assault charge, into writing an apology letter to Ferraro instead of taking him to the hospital promptly.
The federal officer was held for nearly 24 hours before being released on bail.
Days later, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office refused to prosecute the case. Months later, Ding was cleared of any wrongdoing by an internal Department of Homeland Security investigation, the lawsuit claims.
“Even with the fabricated evidence, the District Attorney rejected the charges. But the damage was already done. Mr. Ding suffered significant injuries to his head and shoulder and harm to his reputation.”
The city and police officers named in the lawsuit have not filed a response to the amended claim.
ABC 10News has reached out to San Diego Police multiple times. As of Wednesday evening, police haven't returned a request for comment.
Click here to read the full lawsuit.
