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Matthew Ludwig

Age : 48

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 09/11/2025

Location : Don Greenhill Park

City : Morehead

County : Rowan

State : Kentucky

Agency : San Francisco Police Department

Officer(s) :Jonathan Zepeda, Vinesh Govindbhai

Cause of Death : Suicide

Event : Apparent suicide approximately 14 months after violent wrongful police arrest

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 07/04/2024, San Francisco police officers Jonathan Zepeda and Vinesh Govindbhai saw 48-year-old Matthew Ludwig driving a Honda Accord in the Tenderloin and mistakenly believed it was stolen after entering his license plate incorrectly into their computer.

The officers followed Ludwig without first conducting a traffic stop. At a red light near O’Farrell and Larkin streets, an officer smashed Ludwig’s driver-side window and dragged him from the car; officers forced him to the ground, handcuffed him and pepper-sprayed him in the face at close range although the subsequent Department of Police Accountability investigation found that he was not resisting.

Police discovered after Ludwig was handcuffed that they had entered the wrong license plate and that his car was not stolen. Ludwig was asking for an ambulance and saying he could not breathe.

Despite discovering their mistake, police sought charges against Ludwig for reckless driving and resisting arrest. His car was towed and later sold, and he lost access to the RV he shared with his girlfriend; the criminal charges remained pending until his death.

The San Francisco Department of Police Accountability subsequently sustained multiple findings against the officers, determining that they used excessive and unreasonable force; the investigation found violations involving the force used to remove Ludwig from the car, close-range pepper spray and drawing a firearm without sufficient justification.

On 09/11/2025, approximately 14 months after the arrest, Ludwig was found dead at Don Greenhill Park in Morehead, Kentucky. The Rowan County Coroner’s Office said no foul play was suspected and sent his body for autopsy; the Los Angeles Times reported authorities described his death as an apparent suicide.

OFFICER BACKGROUND
Jonathan Zepeda and Vinesh Govindbhai were identified as the SFPD officers involved in Ludwig’s wrongful arrest; the Department of Police Accountability sustained findings that their conduct violated multiple department policies.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-08-10/typo-by-san-francisco-police-led-to-violent-arrest-of-innocent-driver
https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/sf-police-excessive-force-traffic-stop-22382310.php
https://www.lex18.com/news/morehead-police-report-city-park-is-closed-until-further-notice