San Francisco Superior Court Judge Sylvia Husing today ordered the release from jail of Tony Shervaughn Phillips, the man charged with assaulting and resisting officers after a Tenderloin street fight with Mayor Daniel Lurie’s police bodyguard last week.
Phillips, Husing said, was “violently assaulted” by that officer.
After Phillips appeared in court this morning and pleaded not guilty on various charges, Husing watched surveillance video footage of the incident in private. Returning to court, she seemed to have a clear view of what happened: The police officer “did violently shove him to the ground,” Husing said.
Lurie was being driven down Larkin Street on Thursday evening when he noticed a group of people gathered at the intersection with Cedar Street, a small alley near the Tenderloin. As first reported by Mission Local, Lurie “hopped out” of his SUV, trailed by a police officer assigned to his security detail.
Lurie told the people to move along, but when Phillips refused to comply and allegedly became argumentative, video shows Officer Joel Aguayo shove Phillips to the ground. Phillips rose, and when Aguayo pushed Phillips to the ground again, Phillips began to fight back, slamming Aguayo to the ground and injuring his head.
Phillips was criminally charged on Monday by District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, who referred to his “assaultive conduct” that, she said, poses a “public safety risk.” (Aguayo shoved Phillips after he allegedly threatened Aguayo, saying, “Bruce Lee I’ll kick your ass,” according to a court filing.)
But on Wednesday, Judge Husing seemed far more concerned with Phillips’ safety.
“I don’t want to let him out and let him be subject to the same sort of stuff that he was in that video,” Husing said. “He was violently assaulted.”
Phillips’ court-appointed attorney, Ivan Rodriguez, said he would do anything he could to ensure Phillips made it to court tomorrow morning for his other open cases — Phillips has a long rap sheet.
Rodriguez also said he would work to find shelter for Phillips, who he said is homeless and frequents the area of Cedar and Larkin streets “because he has no other place to go.”
One of Phillips’ charges is that he violated a court order to stay away from that area. Today in court, however, Judge Husing said the document was “vague.”
On the document obtained by Mission Local, the phrase “stay away from” had been crossed out and replaced with “not loiter with.”
“It would’ve been nice if someone told him what loitering meant,” Husing said. “Most of us don’t know — what does loitering mean?”
On the request of Assistant District Attorney Erin Loback, Husing issued a true stay-away order and directed Phillips not to return to the intersection of Cedar and Larkin streets.
The mayor and his goons should be ashamed of themselves.
In the midst of the local and global horrors, it’s such a good feeling to see justice played out, at last. This judge has eyes, ears, and sanity (though a pre-schooler could see what unfolded in this incident).
Unlike the DA- who is righteously shamed for her maniacal overreach, once again.
Jenkins- ¡No sirve para nada!
Thank you for covering this Mission Local!
So much for Lurie being a ‘nice guy’. Seems he is using the public enforcement to bully our citizens rather openly and without shame. His actions and those of his staff and the DA are not that far from those of ICE and DHS.
Why would the judge assume Phillips doesn’t understand why loiter means? Seems likely he would have picked up the term during one of his 17+ arrests, including the 2019 murder investigation.
There is an assumption that Phillips has dropped so far out of society that even he is no longer responsible for his actions.
Ok, so what does it mean? Being in a place at a certain time? With a certain frequency? In a certain bodily posture? Something else? To me it seems like a catch all pretext for police to remove people from a public space. But I am not a lawyer, nor a judge. Unlike the judge who stated that “loitering” is an ambiguous term. So…?
Presumably if Phillips doesn’t show up for his court appointment today, a no-bail bench warrant will be issued for his arrest?
If the mayor with body guards isn’t safe, ordinary citizens don’t stand a chance.
Fortunate, then, that the mayor was perfectly safe.
As an ordinary citizen, I’d recommend not shoving strangers to the ground in the street, like the cop did to this guy. If the person fights back, you won’t have the advantage of a bunch of fellow cops ready to escalate on your behalf.
I would hope most ordinary citizens are not going around shoving strangers in the street trying to make them “move along.” If you’re walking around a rough neighborhood, it’s good to not look like an easy target but for the most part, homeless people are often the victims of violence rather than perpetrators.
This is why we need to get rid of these judges who are the criminals’ “best friends”. If you regularly drive this area, you know that the type that just walks into the road and blocks traffic. Phillips has a rap sheet a mile long and the video does not include the audio of what was said prior to the cop shoving him. Phillips is also clearly moving towards the cop and mayor in a confrontational manner.
I don’t understand why a judge released him. He should be required mental health help until he overcomes his addiction and personal issues. He is a risk for the rest of the community. Why do you think he deserves being on the street to risk the lives of us and well as himself.
World is strange,
I mentioned in the earlier blog covering this that me and Skippy were accosted by a dude I assume to be homeless carrying a hunting knife and a plastic stick this morning.
Saved by the Armory Security guy, Derrick.
I was born and raised in the Clinton-Peabody Projects in St. Louis and tho I ended up with a Masters in Special Ed. I never got much futher.
This Saturday afternoon I will host the remnants of my Salon which consists of me, an 81 year-old with stage one dementia and a friend with brain cancer and a good friend who has been homeless for 20 years and another friend who was also on the street and is now a respected video producer who manages and posts my sfbulldogblog.com (where you can see my accoster being talked to by Derrick, the Armory guard) …
If those guys down on Howard street keep it up there will soon be millions of more homeless.
This guy shudda been released and the cop now charged.
I looked him up and the Brady Bunch site said he isn’t on their list but that they have a bone to pick with SFPD who won’t give up their members.
I know that one of the guy’s on Luries detail was on the list and Yepp’s people put the guy into our neighborhood Mission Station as boss and he promptly called in a former station chief who left under fire for raiding and arresting over a hundred kids at an internationally famous Skate Board Hill Bomb but the new Brady list guy brought the guy back for 4th of July night to raid Latino street festivities screaming …
“I am declaring this an illegal gathering and we will use force !!!”
Wadda town, wadda department.
And, can you believe the last remnants of the SF Bulldog Salon ?
lol
h.
All you need in San Francisco is a story like this to bring all the right wing trash to foam in the mouth and post comments with the usual support of the law and order. So sad.
It gave me great pleasure to screenshot this and send it to Miss Jenkins. Once again Mission Local is breaking news and keeping the city accountable on their BS.
Dude wasn’t assaulted by the police. He was “de-escalated.”
Im still waiting for a story about when the SFPD covered up an assault that left me with permanent brain damage, withheld the report until the statute expired.
They didnt stop there though.
A retaliatory arrest one month after my DPA complaint with ongoing malicious prosecution, 3 years and counting.
These judges should be forced to live in the Tenderloin so they experience the fruits of their decisions every day.
Abogada Brooke Jenkins no es buena.
Amazing what happens in the real world that is not Instagram.
So predictable, while I don’t think any of us have all the facts, seems consistent with a progressive city that a judge would side with a criminal with a long rap sheet against a common sense Mayor very interested in understanding the issues of a neighborhood to resolve them. Very sad actually pathetic.
just because someone has done crimes in the past, doesn’t mean people can assault them for no reason and get away with it (just look at the felon in the white house). When everyone has a phone, its just a matter of time before it comes out that someone had captured it on video. As for common sense, I wonder if millionaires who come from wealth have as much common sense as we the public give them credit for (again, look at the felon in the white house).
Right?!? It’s so simple, even a child know. Police good, criminals bad. Mayor good, criminal bad.
Did you get lost on your way to apply for a job with ICE?
Of course ML reliably takes the side of some Tenderloin lowlife over the mayor and his security detail, that goes almost without saying. As for the judge, she is EXACTLY the kind of judge that most people are so fed up with. Always ready and eager to support and help a bad guy (it’s not his fault, you know), can’t wait to find excuses for some street person with a long criminal record, and who has other current charges, who is homeless, etcetera. Someone like that is always more important than the victims of their crimes. It would probably take the mayor or his security being shot, maybe even killed, before she could bring herself to judge someone like Phillips had done anything wrong.
Thomas —
This is a story about a judge releasing a man from pre-trial detention. It’s a straight news story reported straightly. But I hope banging on the keys made you feel better.
Yours,
JE
it’s interesting that you place more weight on a person’s guilt by their past behaviors rather than what you can clearly see on the video. if there was video of every law you ever broke and you were convicted as opposed to someone who never was recorded or charged, would you still take the other side if they assaulted you because you had the longer rap sheet even though you knew they started it?
No, you don’t get it Tomo. If they had a rap sheet then they would be bad and the police would be justified no matter what because criminal = bad and cop = good. Sorry it’s the new world order. Trump and friends declared and they have bombs and like to use them, so . . .
Yeah, this guys gets it, you should all take a lesson from him people. Homeless = bad, pice = good. Poor and disenfranchised = bad, rich and powerful = good. Say it with me now boys and girls.