The public now has access to the video of the savage hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of US's former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Murphy said there was no reason to keep the footage secret since it was played in an open court during a preliminary hearing last month.
The police body camera footage, which was released by the court on Friday, shows suspect David DePapa and Paul Pelosi standing side by side just inside the house.
The Footage
The video shows police approaching the home and knocking on the front door. The front door opens after a few seconds, showing Pelosi standing alongside DePapa. Both are holding onto the hammer.
There is an exchange of words. "What's going on, man? an officer can be heard saying, as body-camera footage shows the two men, DePapa in a pullover sweater and Pelosi in a long striped shirt and dark sleep shorts, engaged in a tug-of-war over a hammer.
The police officer commands the men to drop the hammer but DePapa says no and yanks the hammer away, and swings it at Pelosi, who tries to escape the blow.
The police then rushes inside the home and pulls the attacker off 82-year-old Pelosi who remains on the ground. The police can be heard requesting for backup as they handcuff DePapa.
Nancy Pelosi's husband suffered a fractured skull and injuries to his arms and hands. He underwent surgery after the early-morning attack. The 42-year-old attacker had broken into the San Francisco home around 2 am on October 28 and demanded to know where the Congresswoman was.
Intended to Kidnap Nancy Pelosi
The footage highlighted DePapa walking around the house, peering inside, and sitting down in the yard before pulling on a pair of gloves, smashing a hammer at a door or window, and then climbing through.
According to authorities, DePapa wanted to kidnap the former House Speaker but he told officers he wanted to break her kneecaps. The San Francisco police recovered zip ties in Pelosi's bedroom, as per the court records, and in the hall way near the front door of the residence and found a roll of tape, white rope, one hammer, a pair of rubber and cloth gloves, and a journal in the attacker's backpack.
At the time of the incident, Nancy Pelosi was in Washington DC. The following month, she announced that she was stepping down from Democratic leadership.
Nancy Pelosi told reporters she has not heard the 911 call. "I have not heard the confession. I have not seen the break-in and I have absolutely no intention of seeing the deadly assault on my husband's life."
It should be noted that DePapa has pleaded not guilty to six charges, including attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder, and threats to a public official and their family.
