Parents Sue SF, SFPD Over Recruit's Death During Police Academy Training

Near San Francisco Superior Court last September, Christina and Marcus Psalms stood tearfully alongside their attorney to demand answers about how their son died during a routine police training exercise. On March 19, they filed a lawsuit against the City of San Francisco and the San Francisco Police Department, accusing both of wrongful death, battery, assault and negligence in the death of their son, 30-year-old Recruit Officer Jon-Marques Psalms.

Jon-Marques collapsed during a physical training exercise at the SFPD Police Academy on Aug. 22, 2025, about three months into state-mandated training. When medical emergency personnel arrived, he was unresponsive. He underwent brain surgery, during which doctors discovered extensive swelling and bleeding; he was subsequently taken off life support. KTVU reported he spent two days in the UCSF ICU before his death on Aug. 22, while other accounts describe the medical emergency and hospitalization as beginning that same day. SFPD has said it believes the death is the first training-related fatality in the department's history.

The lawsuit, filed by attorney Brad Gage, goes beyond negligence. The family alleges a deliberate cover-up, claiming SFPD is withholding video and photographic evidence of the training exercise.

"We've requested the video and we've asked them to preserve it," Gage said at a briefing. "Our concern is that there was a video and that the video would show wrongdoing, and that it's being concealed."

Gage has argued that videotaping training exercises is standard practice and that the footage should be preserved and disclosed. The family's suspicions deepened when they learned that a lieutenant in charge of the academy was transferred just one day after Jon-Marques died. SFPD pushed back on that inference, with a spokesperson stating that "decisions on staffing changes at the academy occurred before Recruit Officer Psalms' tragic death."

The only official medical information the family had received before filing the lawsuit was an initial chief medical examiner's report indicating a head injury. "We don't know how or when that injury occurred," Gage said. "His body started to deteriorate and multiple organs started failing despite efforts from medical providers in the hospital to save him." Gage has also been working to obtain a second independent autopsy while CAL/OSHA separately investigates the circumstances of the death.

Marcus Psalms has been unequivocal about his belief that the department bears responsibility. "There's no reason that anybody can convince me that the way I lost my son is justified, because it's not," he said at Thursday's briefing. Christina Psalms described the loss in starker personal terms: "He's gone, and I feel like it's blown a hole in our family unit."

Jon-Marques had moved from Southern California to the Bay Area, where he worked in tech sales before pursuing his longtime interest in law enforcement. His parents described him as a scholar and an athlete who held a blue belt in Jiu Jitsu. He is survived by his parents and a younger brother.

SFPD referred requests for comment to the City Attorney's Office. Spokesperson Jen Kwart offered condolences and said the city intends to fight the claims in court: "Recruit Officer Psalms death is a tragedy, and our thoughts are with his loved ones. We will review the complaint and respond in court.