Video launched of assault on Paul Pelosi displaying suspect swinging a hammer at him

Video and audio of the October violent assault on Paul Pelosi, husband of then Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was launched Friday.

It was launched after San Francisco Superior Court docket Justice Stephen M. Murphy dominated there was no cause to maintain the footage secret, particularly after prosecutors performed it throughout a preliminary courtroom listening to final month.

The video reveals the police approaching the home and knocking on the entrance door. After a couple of seconds, the entrance door opens to disclose Pelosi standing subsequent to a second man, later recognized as David DePape. DePape and Pelosi each maintain a hammer.

David DePape, left, and Paul Pelosi battle over a gavel at Pelosi’s San Francisco house on Oct. 28, 2022, on this screenshot from police bodycam video. San Francisco Superior Court docket

The cops change a couple of phrases with the lads, then see the hammer and inform him to drop the gun.

“Um, no,” DePape replies, jerking the hammer away and swinging it at Pelosi.

The police then barge into the home and drag DePape away from Pelosi, who stays on the bottom. Police may be heard calling for backup as they handcuff the suspect.

Pelosi, 82, suffered a fractured cranium and accidents to his arms and palms and underwent surgical procedure on the couple’s San Francisco house after the early morning assault. DePape, 42, allegedly broke into the house round 2 a.m. and demanded to know the place the congresswoman was. Paul Pelosi was in a position to name 911.

“Our officers noticed Mr. Pelosi and the suspect, each of whom have been holding a gavel,” San Francisco Police Chief William Scott mentioned in October. “The suspect pulled the hammer away from Mr. Pelosi and brutally attacked him with it.”

An excerpt of safety footage from a digital camera outdoors Pelosi’s house was launched by the courtroom on Friday. It reveals the suspect strolling round the home, peeking inside, and sitting down within the yard earlier than donning a pair of gloves, banging a hammer on a door or window, after which climbing by.

Authorities mentioned DePape meant to kidnap Nancy Pelosi, telling officers he needed to “break her kneecaps.” The congresswoman was in Washington, DC on the time. She introduced the next month that she can be stepping down from the Democratic management however would stay in Congress.

The congresswoman mentioned Friday her husband continues to make progress.

“I didn’t hear the 911 name. I didn’t hear the confession. I didn’t see the housebreaking and I’ve completely no intention of seeing the deadly assault on my husband’s life,” she advised reporters after the video was launched.

DePape has pleaded not responsible to 6 counts, together with tried homicide, house invasion, assault with a lethal weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder and threatening an officer and his household.

In accordance with courtroom information, San Francisco police “recovered cable ties in Pelosi’s bed room and within the hallway close to the entrance door of the Pelosi residence” and “discovered a roll of duct tape, a chunk of white rope, a hammer, a pair of rubber and fabric gloves, and a journal” in his backpack.

Information organizations, together with CBS Information, looked for the footage performed in courtroom, which included audio of Pelosi’s 911 name, police bodycam footage and surveillance footage, and clips from a police interview. ABC, NBC, Fox, the Washington Submit and the New York Occasions, amongst others, joined the request, The Related Press reported,

Assistant San Francisco Public Defender Adam Lipson, representing David DePape, mentioned he thought it was “a horrible mistake” to launch the video and different proof within the case.

“The footage is inflammatory and will gasoline unfounded theories about this case, and we’re extraordinarily involved about Mr. DePape’s skill to obtain a good trial,” Lipson mentioned in an announcement.

“Objecting to the discharge of this proof is a troublesome query as a result of the injury has already been finished. However we’re reviewing our choices on this case and intend to proceed to supply Mr. DePape with the sturdy protection he deserves.”