Update: Former SF Fire commissioner Don Carmignani faces long recovery after vicious beating
SAN FRANCISCO -- Many people in San Francisco's Marina District on Friday were expressing their outrage over the brutal beating that hospitalized a former fire commissioner this week.
The victim's family said 53-year-old Don Carmignani remains at SF General and will likely be recovering there for days.
Witnesses told KPIX the attack happened at the corner of Magnolia and Laguna Streets. They said the victim tried to get away and ran to Lombard Street, but the suspect kept following and beating Carmignani with a large metal pipe.
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A witness shared a cellphone video with KPIX that shows who, he said, is the suspect -- a man who can be seen in the clip holding a metal pipe.
"He beat him brutally. I was screaming, 'Stop! Stop! Stop!' I was upstairs. People were recording [video of the attack], but I think people were afraid because they don't know what these people have on them," said a neighbor and witness who declined to provide a name fearing for his safety.
"I saw a guy -- he clearly was hit in his head, he was bleeding from his head and a crazy guy with a crow bar and it was pretty disturbing," said witness Spencer Lehrman.
The attack happened in front of Lehrman's doorway near Magnolia and Laguna streets Wednesday around 7:20 pm. Lehrman called 9-1-1.
"It was just covered with blood when I saw it, it was very hard to tell how bad the wound was, there was so much blood. It was pretty gross," Lehrman said. "I moved in here recently. There's a surprising amount of homeless activity. Unfortunately, it seems like some of them are kind of crazy."
Family and friends said Carmignani is a lifelong San Francisco resident, a former fire commissioner, and a businessman. He has two children.
"He's fighting. He's fighting and he's angry. I just came from the hospital. I spent an hour with him and he's angry," said Joe Alioto Veronese, a civil rights attorney and a long-time friend of Carmignani.
Ray Carmignani, father of the victim, said his son had head surgery on Thursday. He said the victim has a fractured skull, a broken jaw, and cuts on the head and face that required 51 stitches.
"This is not a homeless issue, this is now a criminal issue and it's a mental health issue," said Alioto Veronese.
Alioto Veronese said the attack all started with a few homeless people sleeping in front of Carmignani's parents' house on Magnolia Street and blocking their front door. He said Carmignani asked those people to move and at least one person attacked him.
Police arrested one suspect, 24-year-old Garret Doty. He is facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon and battery causing serious bodily injury.
Marina residents told KPIX they're very familiar with the people camping outside the home, including the suspect. They've described the group as aggressive to passersby.
"I've seen that homeless dude around before. He seemed totally crazy," Lehrman said.
Many Marina District neighbors are upset that police did not detain the other homeless people who were with the suspect.
"We're all living in this Petri dish of mental health because the city is not dealing with it. So it's like the insane asylum is our neighborhood and that's what's become of San Francisco," Alioto Veronese said.
Kevin DeMartini grew up near Carmignani and is a lifelong friend.
"If our politicians don't put this guy away, it's like they're declaring war on the citizens of San Francisco," DeMartini said. "At what point do we fight back, I mean at what point do we fight back? Donny, he could die, he could die, we're just going to sit here and take it? Nah man! They messed with the wrong one this time. I've known Donny my whole life. This is not getting swept under the rug!"
Ray Carmignani said his son has a long recovery process. The elder Carmignani said he plans to sell his house and move out of San Francisco.
San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safai said in a KPIX interview that Carmignani's mother tried to get help from the city.
"His mother had called the police a few times that day. They didn't show up because there's such a shortage of officers in the city, they weren't able to prioritize that call. Then he shows up to the scene, tries to take matters in his own hands and ends up in the hospital," he said. "San Francisco really does feel out of control right now and so we need to do better."
