DHS agent goes to war with California cops over ‘cover up’ – and releases evidence from Costco

A federal agent is alleging the San Diego Police Department is trying to cover up his confrontation with an off-duty officer at a Costco — who allegedly directed a racial slur at him and knocked him out.

Immigration officer Chu Ding filed a lawsuit last week against the city and several officers, alleging they hashed up the 2024 incident.

Surveillance video shows San Diego cop Jonathan Ferraro blocking Ding from leaving as he waited for a nearby parking spot.

When Ding knocked on his window, a plain-clothes-wearing Ferraro allegedly got out of the car and called Ding a “Chinese piece of s–t” and slammed him to the ground.

Ferraro then informed Ding he was a police officer and flashed his badge. Multiple bystanders called 911 to report the off-duty officer as the attacker, but the lawsuit claims at least six 911 operators labeled Ding as the offender.

The lawsuit claims 911 operators provided emotional support to Ferraro’s wife during the incident.

“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,” the lawsuit said.

Operators upgraded the call to a Priority 0 call, directing more than a dozen officers, including a lieutenant, a sergeant, two detectives, and a media relations spokesperson to the scene.

Department leadership knew the incident would dominate the media and wanted to filter their response, the lawsuit alleged.

“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,” the lawsuit says.

“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.

Officers, the department’s public relations, and a supervising officer considered charging Ding with a felony to keep him “quiet,” but knew it wouldn’t stick, according to the suit.

There was extensive evidence in Ding’s favor, including several witnesses, 911 calls, and the surveillance footage.

Several bystanders at the scene were yelling at Ferraro that “he was going to jail and telling him this is why everyone hates cops.”

They called for an ambulance for Ding, but sent it away after he began asking questions about Ferraro’s name.

Law enforcement there initially planned to cite and release Ding with misdemeanor battery on an officer, but appeared to change course after learning he was an immigration officer.

Officers took “the highly unusual step of” sending an ambulance away while Ding had a fractured rib, and transported him to the substation.

There, they allegedly denied him food, water, and medical care before pressuring him into signing a letter of apology to Ferraro.

The lawsuit says it took hours for Ding to finally take pain medication for his wounds. Officers held Ding for nearly 24 hours without bail before he was released.

The District Attorney refused to press charges against Ding, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Professional Responsibility cleared him of any wrongdoing.

But the lawsuit, which calls for reparations for a number of alleged offenses, including excessive force and false imprisonment, says the arrest took a toll on Ding.

“Mr. Ding’s coworkers now look at him with suspicion, and he continues to live in the shadow of the embarrassment caused by these Defendants,” it says.

The California Post reached out to the DHS and SDPD for comment.

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