From NY Post:
A man charged with an attack on San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s bodyguard has been released – after a judge decided it was the security detail who instigated the confrontation.
Judge Sylvia Husing said that Tony Phillips, a 44-year old homeless man, was “violently attacked” by Lurie’s police bodyguard — after viewing a viral video showing the officer, Joel Aguayo, shoving Phillips into a pile of trash with the mayor beside him.
Phillips was charged with felony resisting officer, assaulting officer, violating stay-away order. But Ivan Rodriguez, his attorney, said Lurie caused the violent fight in which Phillips was filmed body slamming Aguayo.
“The mayor lured his security detail into engaging in this senseless altercation, all for political theatrics, your honor,” Rodriguez said in the courtroom. “I don’t think that’s leadership — I think that’s performative.”
The San Francisco Standard reported:
On Thursday evening at 5:38 p.m., Lurie, an aide, and two members of his security team were driving north on Larkin Street when they spotted several people sitting on the sidewalk on the corner of Cedar Street, an alley in the Tenderloin.
The mayor ordered the driver of his Rivian SUV, Officer Nicholas Boccio, to pull over. Lurie hopped out of the SUV. Another bodyguard, Officer Joel Aguayo, followed.
After leaving the vehicle, the mayor took matters into his own hands, the report says. Lurie attempted to get the group hanging out on Cedar to move, but one man refused.
According to the witness statements, “Mayor Lurie addressed the group and requested that they move along, as they were standing in the roadway. Phillips became immediately argumentative, stating that he did not have to move.”
After arguing with Phillips for a time, the altercation became physical, and Aguayo was injured.
After his release, Phillips told reporters, “I’m doing better out of jail. I was sweating,” he said. “I know what’s running in my mind. My thoughts are clear, at least.”
Phillips pleaded not guilty in court. He is scheduled to appear again on April 15.
Read more at NY Post
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