DHS agent challenges San Diego police over Costco security footage cover-up

Costco’s parking-lot cameras became the center of a civil-rights fight after a Homeland Security agent said an off-duty San Diego police sergeant attacked him at the Carmel Mountain Road warehouse and left the store footage as the clearest record of what happened. Chu Ding says the July 2, 2024 confrontation in San Diego started over a parking space, escalated when Sgt. Jonathan Ferraro blocked his exit, and ended with Ding knocked unconscious and later diagnosed with a fractured rib.

The dispute matters inside a warehouse because it turns an ordinary store camera system into evidence that can shape police reports, civil claims, and employee safety questions all at once. Ding later obtained the Costco surveillance footage and publicly released it as he accused San Diego police of hiding evidence and protecting one of their own. The case has put the Carmel Mountain Ranch location in the middle of a broader fight over what workers, managers, and store security are expected to do when an incident on company property becomes a law-enforcement dispute.

Ding filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit in July 2025 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California against the City of San Diego and multiple officers. In May 2026, U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia denied qualified immunity to the individual defendants, allowing the case to move forward. Battaglia’s ruling meant the officers could not use badge-based immunity to shut down the claims at this stage.

In early June 2026, Ding’s amended complaint widened the case into a cover-up allegation. It says San Diego police tried to prevent a public-relations nightmare after the Costco confrontation, and it claims multiple 911 callers described Ferraro as the aggressor. The lawsuit also says dispatchers mishandled the calls and that Ding was later jailed on charges that were eventually dropped.

For Costco workers, the stakes go beyond one parking-lot fight. When an incident happens on company property, the footage, witness statements, and chain of custody around recordings can become as important as the physical confrontation itself. In a warehouse built on tight operations, fast turnover, and constant motion through busy lots and loading areas, the case underscores how quickly a routine shift can turn into a legal dispute over safety, privacy, and who gets to control the record.