'The mayor should be held accountable': S.F. man who fought Lurie's security appears in court

"The mayor lured his security detail into engaging in this senseless altercation, all for political theatrics, your honor. The video shows very clearly that Mr. Phillips was not the aggressor in this case. He was shoved twice, at which point, he had to defend himself."

"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."

"A San Francisco police officer assigned to Lurie's security detail, however, engaged physically - he is seen on video twice shoving Phillips 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."

Tony Phillips, 44, pleaded not guilty to resisting an executive officer and assaulting a peace officer following an altercation with Mayor Daniel Lurie's security detail in the Tenderloin. Phillips's court-appointed attorney, Ivan Rodriguez, argued that Lurie approached Phillips and others on the street, asking them to move. When they refused, Phillips became argumentative but not combative. Officer Joel Aguayo, Lurie's bodyguard, then physically engaged Phillips, shoving him twice before they grappled on the pavement, resulting in Aguayo bleeding from his head. Rodriguez contended Phillips did not know Lurie was the mayor or that Aguayo was a police officer, characterizing the incident as political theatrics. The judge agreed to review surveillance footage before deciding on Phillips's release.

Read at Mission Local