Tony Phillips, the 44-year-old man charged with a felony count of resisting an executive officer and assault on a peace officer in his fight last week with Mayor Daniel Lurie’s security detail, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday morning.
His court-appointed attorney, Ivan Rodriguez, put much of the blame for the incident on Lurie, who approached several men on the sidewalk and street at the edge of the Tenderloin on Thursday evening, asking them to move along, as Mission Local first reported.
The men refused to move, Rodriguez acknowledged, and Phillips became “argumentative, not combative.”
A San Francisco police officer assigned to Lurie’s security detail, however, engaged physically. He is seen on video shoving Phillips twice before the two men ended up grappling to the pavement.
The officer, Joel Aguayo, ended up bleeding from the back of his head after striking it on the ground.
Phillips did not know that Lurie was the mayor, Rodriguez said, nor that Aguayo, Lurie’s bodyguard, was a police officer. Both approached looking like “two people in suits,” and simply instructed Phillips and the other people on the street to “move along.”
“The mayor lured his security detail into engaging in this senseless altercation, all for political theatrics, your honor,” Rodriguez said in the courtroom on Wednesday.
He urged the judge to view surveillance footage of the scene and to release Phillips from jail. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Sylvia Husing said she would review the footage and make a decision this afternoon.
“The video shows very clearly that Mr. Phillips was not the aggressor in this case,” Rodriguez said. “He was shoved twice, at which point he had to defend himself.”
Phillips appeared in an orange sweatshirt and sweatpants, and bright orange Crocs-like sandals. He spoke inaudibly with his attorney after the hearing ended, and peered around the courtroom, handcuffed, before being taken back to a holding cell.
Surveillance footage showed Lurie and Aguayo speaking with men at the corner of Cedar and Larkin streets before Phillips appeared to try to move around Aguayo.
Suddenly, Aguayo is seen shoving Phillips to the ground; he would later claim Phillips threatened him by saying “Bruce Lee I’ll kick your ass.” Phillips rose, and Aguayo shoved him again.
At the scene, Mission Local reported that Lurie had “hopped out” of his vehicle and, when the men refused to comply, Aguayo had intervened. Lurie, for his part, told Mission Local that the men had tried to fight a police officer, but declined to say anything more and did not mention that the officer had become physical first.
“They wanted to engage and confront these individuals that were out on the street” at Lurie’s direction, Rodriguez said, “I don’t think that’s leadership. I think that’s performative.”
Rodriguez said that “the mayor should be held accountable,” and called on Lurie to make a statement admitting he was wrong, and ask the district attorney to dismiss the charges against Phillips.
But the DA is taking the opposite tack: Prosecutor Erin Loback argued for keeping Phillips in jail because of his purported public safety risk, and for “securing Mr. Phillips’ presence in court when less restrictive means have been unsuccessful.”
Loback noted that Phillips frequently fails to appear in court, and has been arrested and cited multiple times near Cedar and Larkin streets despite a court order.
Phillips is additionally being charged with contempt of court, because of that order to stay away from the location where the incident occurred.
Oh for heaven’s sake. Phillips and the others were blocking the street. They were asked to move along. By the mayor! Why not just move along? But no, Phillips has to get argumentative. So what if he was shoved? He was shoved by a cop who was part of the mayor’s security detail! He didn’t have to start a fight, he could have just backed off. If it were up to me, the cop would have given him a wooden shampoo. But no, the cop is now the one who is the bad guy, and the mayor has to be accountable. One more move toward the inmates running the asylum.
‘The mayor should be held accountable’.
No, Phillips should be held accountable for once. Actually, enough with the “accountable” euphemism – Phillips should be prosecuted, period.
Phillips can be arrested dozens of times and violate repeated court orders but no accountability for him. That’s the SF way.
For self-defense against an assault that was caught on camera? Tell me, do you fit the whole boot in your mouth or do you actually stick your tongue out and lick it like an ice cream cone?
For real, did these people even watch the video? Only antisocial shitheads go around starting fights at random and that goes for cops just as for street dwellers or anyone else.
I don’t like cops, but I always treat one that I meet like he’s one of the good apples in a basket of rotten ones. This guy confronted a cope disrespectfully so I don’t have sympathy for him.
Phillips is a lifelong crook and a loser. The hardworking residents of the Tenderloin have to deal with a lot of them. Sad stuff. No good comes of letting people like Phillips live on the street. Without forced treatment or prison, even all the resources won’t get them anywhere else. The city budget has shown that.
This wealthy privileged clueless mayor has no idea about life outside his bubble and has probably never even been on public transportation. We need to be more careful about who we elect.
The mayor should be held accountable? For asking a member of the public to move off the street? Whatever happened afterwards, that statement by the public defender is ridiculous.
So Lurie and the body guard were then promptly arrested and are in jail awaiting trial?
I mean, yeah if the guy defending himself against repeated assault couldn’t afford bail, shouldn’t the bail amount set be _at least_ similarly unaffordable?
Mister Rodriguez, thank you for defending the rights of Mister Phillips in court.
Mayor Lurie, please find a home for Mister Phillips.
This incident is too nightmarishly similar to the infamous ICE incident, especially for a mayor and his wife who send their children to a Friends’ school to be educated in the practice of non-violent negotiation.
I, for one, will vote against Mayor Lurie’s proposed initiatives based on his condoning strongarm behavior & not admitting he’s in the wrong.
If this guy gets released from jail, I will join team Garry Tan.
How intimidating
I just watch the video and this is one of the most embarrassing incidents I’ve ever seen, What in the name of heck was Lurie thinking getting out of the car to bully a homeless man? Watching him try to casually walk away during the fight and then break into a run was too cringe to be funny. If this dude gets a second term I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.
Damn. I would live to see that sniveling little weasel take the stand. It’s too bad that isn’t going to happen. This thing will not get that far.
Mr. Mayor,
Those people return to these spots because they have nowhere else to go because you insist upon insisting that the next step from the street should be brick and mortar.
Build those 4 KOA style campgrounds of 1,000 slots each with 200 slots for RV’s and put tents there for them.
Build the first adjoining the VA’s Fort Miley and take care of my fellow vets who are homeless.
I had one of these guys come across from the Armory side of Julian this morning flashing a hunting knife and demanding I “Gimme what you got.”.
I thought of calling the cops but last time I asked for help from them in the same place and same kind of situation but without the knife, they never came and I talked my way out of it.
I outblustered this one cause he was alone and cleaning tools can be weapons and my dog, Skippy was making a racket.
He went back to his comrades and I took his picture when, Derrick who is the Security Guard from the Armory came out (he didn’t witness the guy crossing the street to accost me) and backed him off.
After I told him I had his picture and that he had an illegal weapon (too big a knife) and I would report it to the cops they all broke camp and were gone within the hour when Skippy and I passed by again after completing our route.
The Mayor needs cops with clean records and social skills on his detail and if he wants to mix with the worst of the street people to put on Levis and a baseball hat and shades and walk with Skippy and I on that part of our route.
go Niners !!
h.
I’m really surprised that so many people are totally OK with the billionaire mayor’s private security detail assaulting someone.
Anyone who saw that tape and was still like, “yah, that’s what cops should do”, really needs to take a lesson on how democratic nations fail. Then when you tell them, “it went to court and a judge said that what the cop did was illegal” and STILL support the cop?
honestly. It’s like you people want to blame everyone but rich white people for anything that happens.
Playing Mayor,….. cosplaying first responder,….. I bet if SFUSD hadn’t cancelled school during the UESF strike, Lurie’s political theatrics would have meant teaching a class.
I suppose you’re pining for the dufus and her corrupt cronies that preceded him.
Any bets this guy has had different experiences with LEOs?
And when does perceived disrespect constitute license for assault? In the United States of America. San Francisco. Tenderloin?
Because Cartman?
Different experience with LEO’s? Are you trying to speculate about whether Joel Aguayo has previous experience with other law enforcement agencies?
Impressive work by Ivan Rodriguez for standing up for what is right. Thankfully the video evidence and reporting make it quite clear that Lurie instigated a confrontation with a San Franciscan who was acting peacefully and his bodyguard provoked this violent action without a reasonable cause. Then Lurie attempted to cover it up. Lurie is demonstrating a pattern of disgraceful leadership. Another billionaire thinking the law does not apply to him.
the fact that multiple people downvoted actual facts coming out and actual abuses of the law coming to light and an actual cover up attempt being undone is bizarre. Honestly people how desperate are you to simp for Lurie? or do you just hate poor black people so much you’re willing to ditch those pesky “rights” that so many people died for?