San Francisco DA charging man in connection to fight with mayor's bodyguard
A man suspected of fighting with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie's security will be facing multiple charges, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said on Monday.
The suspect, identified as 44-year-old Tony Phillips, will face charges of resisting an executive officer, causing great bodily injury, assault of a police officer, contempt of a court order, and unauthorized lodging, the DA said.
The charges stem from an incident that happened on March 5, near Larkin and Cedar streets.
Video of the incident shows a verbal exchange between the guard and Phillips. The bodyguard, who is also a San Francisco police officer, is then seen shoving Phillips, knocking him off his feet.
A second video showing what happened after the initial physical confrontation, shared by Mission Local, shows Phillips slamming the guard to the ground. During the DA's new conference, Jenkins was asked about the video showing the bodyguard appearing to be the one who initiated physical contact.
"There was a great deal of conversation that occurred before that," Jenkins said.
Mayor Lurie, who was seen on video watching the incident unfold, talked about what led to the physical confrontation.
"I saw two individuals in the middle of a street, not on the sidewalk, literally in the middle of the street. And I was worried about them, and I was worried about [the] safety of pedestrians and cars coming. So, I stopped. We asked them to get up. And then, the incident began," he said on Friday.
Lurie was not injured in the incident. And the bodyguard suffered an injury to the back of his head, but was doing well, according to Lurie.
Jenkins said her office will be moving to have Phillip detained.
"This is an individual who was requested by a police officer to do something and forcefully resisted that police officer at the time and engaged in assaultive conduct. This is a person who also was in violation of a court order not to be in that location, and so from our vantage point, this is somebody who not only presents a risk to the public but also a risk to law enforcement should they attempt to address him in necessary manners, including should he violate that stay-away order again. So, we have significant concerns about what he is willing to do," Jenkins said.
The court order, Jenkins said, states that Phillips was to stay 150 feet away from the location where the incident had unfolded. She also added that more details about what led to the confrontation and why there was a stay-away order will be released during his arraignment on Tuesday.
Also arrested in connection with the incident was 33-year-old Abraham Simon. Simon could be seen in the video standing near Phillips during the confrontation. He was arrested on suspicion of resisting or obstructing a police officer.
"At some point, Mr. Simon steps in to do what it appears is to help Mr. Phillips in a manner that now warrants us charging him," Jenkins said.
After the DA's announcement, Lurie released a statement about her decision to charge Phillips and Simon.
"I want to thank District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and her office for all of their work to keep our city safe. I hope these individuals will be held accountable," Lurie said. "Since my first day as mayor, public safety has been my top priority, and our police officers work every day to keep San Francisco safe for our kids, families, and small business owners. I'm going to continue to be in our neighborhoods and out on the streets, and our administration will keep working hard to hire more law enforcement officers, drive down crime, and tackle the city's behavioral health challenges."