Video released of Paul Pelosi attack at his home in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO — Footage of the attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was released Friday.
Footage shows a man identified by authorities as suspect David DePape breaking into the home. Police body camera footage responding to the location shows a confrontation between the attacker and Pelosi.
This footage shows DePape snatching a hammer from the hands of 82-year-old Paul Pelosi and rushing towards him. The assailant then holds the tool above his head. A blow to Pelosi occurs out of sight and the officers rush into the house and jump on DePape.
Pelosi, apparently unconscious, can be seen lying face down in his pajama top and underwear.
Background: The footage released Friday by the clerk’s office was shown in open court last month. It showed footage from Capitol Police surveillance cameras, body cameras worn by the two officers who responded, and the police interview of accused assailant David DePape. Parts of Paul Pelosi’s 911 call also aired.
For context: DePape, 42, is accused of breaking into the couple’s home on October 28 with a political vendetta and assaulting Paul Pelosi with a hammer. DePape pleaded not guilty in December to six counts, including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted kidnapping, burglary, elder abuse and threatening a family member of a public official. .
Why the video came out: A San Francisco judge ruled on Wednesday there was no reason to keep the footage secret after it was shown in open court last month, according to Thomas Burke, a San Francisco-based attorney who represented the news media attempting to access evidence in the Case.
The reason : Police Lt. Carla Hurley, who interviewed DePape at San Francisco General Hospital on the day of the attack, testified that he sought to attack Nancy Pelosi because she is ‘the second line in the presidency’ and told him, “There’s trouble in Washington.” She wasn’t home at the time.
What the video of the attack on Paul Pelosi shows
Police body camera footage shows officers knocking on the front door of the house. It takes about 20 seconds for the door to open and during this time the agents discuss whether they have the correct house.
Next, footage shows Pelosi and the attacker standing in the home’s entryway. A flashlight shows the attacker holding the handle of a hammer with one hand and shaking hands with Pelosi, who is gripping the head of the hammer, with his other hand. The two men try to push the hammer away from each other.
A responding officer can be heard saying, “Drop the hammer,” just before the man identified by police as DePape pulls the gun from Pelosi’s grip and brandishes it at him.
Both men fall to the ground as police rush inside, and footage shows Pelosi lying motionless on the ground.
Capitol Police security camera footage taken earlier in the night shows a man carrying a large backpack and carrying two other bags outside the home. He pulls out a hammer and smashes a glass door, then crouches down to enter through it.
In 911 call, Paul Pelosi says a stranger is waiting for his wife to come home
After the attacker confronted Paul Pelosi in his bedroom, Pelosi tried to walk to an elevator in the house to reach a phone, but the man blocked his way, authorities previously said. Pelosi then told the man he needed to use the restroom, where his cell phone was charging, allowing Pelosi to call 911.
During the 911 call, Pelosi told a dispatcher that a man had come to the house asking to see his wife, Nancy Pelosi. The suspect listens to the call in the background and at one point identifies himself as “David”.
While speaking with the dispatcher, the suspect tells Pelosi to hang up the phone, Pelosi says.
“He told me to put the phone down and do what he says, okay?” said Pelosi.
Police praised an alert dispatcher for reading between the lines of Pelosi’s calm voice — and DePape’s responses in the background — and coding the call as a priority, which allowed for a quicker response from the police.
According to the authorities, what else happened during the attack?
DePape is accused of waking Paul Pelosi by standing over his bed brandishing a hammer and zip ties. Authorities say he asked, “Where’s Nancy?”
When Pelosi asked why DePape wanted to see his wife, DePape reportedly replied, “Well, she’s No. 2 running for president, isn’t she?” DePape would have said. “We have to eliminate them all.”
Pelosi asked if he could call someone for DePape, but he reportedly “replied ominously that it was the end of the road for Mr. Pelosi.”
After being knocked out, Pelosi went unresponsive for about three minutes. He woke up in a pool of his own blood. His head and hand injuries required surgery and a hospital stay of almost a week.
Who is David DePape?
DePape is a Canadian citizen who entered the United States on a tourist visa 20 years ago and stayed after it expired. Pelosi did not know DePape before the attack, according to the San Francisco Police Department.
During a sufficient evidence hearing for DePape in December, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Murphy repeated details shared by the prosecution that DePape “came to the Pelosi house to annihilate and give a lesson to people he believes are corrupt”, and reportedly told police, “I didn’t come here to surrender. If you arrest me, it’s like preventing me from pursuing evil and you will suffer the punishment.”
DePape, who is being held in San Francisco County Jail, faces 13 years to life in prison if convicted of the charges against him.
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Contributors: Bart Jansen and Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
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