Ex-San Francisco fire commissioner attacked with metal bar demands more be done to protect residents

The former San Francisco fire commissioner has called on the city to reform policies to better protect residents from violent crime after being beaten with a metal pipe in front of his family home on Wednesday, April 5.

In a statement shared with KRON4 Don Carmignani, 53, said his family had dealt with his attackers before and called on the city to do more to “safeguard the safety of [the city’s] law-abiding citizens over those who chose to use drugs and commit acts of violence on our streets.”

He said, “I am hopeful that this unfortunate incident will lead to policy changes to better protect the interests of San Francisco residents and that my attackers will be fully prosecuted.”

Cell phone footage showed Carmignani being attacked by “a group of homeless people” as he left his mother’s home near the Marina District. San Francisco police subsequently arrested a 24-year-old man, Gareth Doty, who is charged with assault with a deadly weapon and battery causing serious injury.

San Francisco has experienced an increase in reports of violent crimes since the pandemic, which are about to increase 8% from 2020 to 2022. While significant reductions in reports of rape and trafficking have helped this figure, prices of robberies has grown to early 2023.

Don Carmignani fought for his life in hospital after the horrific beating on Wednesday, just one day after Cash App founder Bob Lee was stabbed to death in San Francisco.

Leaving his mother’s house near Magnolia and Laguna Streets, at about 7:20 p.m., Carmignani was reportedly cut open with a knife and hit on the head with the metal pipe “countless” times.

Police have yet to confirm whether the man in the video is connected to the attack on Carmignani

Carmignani underwent surgery on Thursday and was in ICU from Friday afternoon.

His father said he broke his jaw, needed surgery to remove a piece of his skull and had 50 stitches in his face.

Carmignani later said the assailant was a homeless man who had taken up residence across from his mother’s home on the morning of the attack.

Disturbing cell phone footage shared on a local neighborhood app showed a man wandering the nearby area with a metal crowbar in hand.

People have not yet confirmed that the man is the attacker.

He said he called the police that morning after seeing three in the camp, allegedly taking drugs and behaving aggressively.

San Francisco has seen a violent increase in crime, with police statistics showing that the city’s homicide rate increased 36.6 percent from 2019 to 2022 — from 41 to 56.

Violent crime has also increased 7.5 percent across San Francisco over the past three years, returning from its low during the pandemic.

Reports counted 695 robberies between January 1, 2023 and April 9, 2023, a 9.8% increase from the same range a year earlier.

Common assault also increased marginally, by 0.6%. No progress was made to lower the city’s homicide rate.

Overall, the city has the 14th highest violent crime rate of the 23 police departments serving cities of more than 750,000 residents in the US, the San Francisco Chronicle noted.

Carmignani said he was attacked by a group that lined up in front of his mother’s house

Area Carmignani said he was attacked when a camp was set up opposite his mother’s house

Carmignani stressed the need for “policy changes” to reverse the trend.

Catherine Stefani, representing the Marina District, said in a statement that the city should provide the resources law enforcement officers need “to turn the tide on crime in this city.”

She added: “As I pray for Don, his family and his recovery, I want to be very clear: We cannot tolerate this type of criminal activity.

‘Not in the marina, nowhere. Everyone has the right to feel safe in San Francisco, and that means the city needs to stop playing politics with public safety.”

Anyone with information regarding Lee’s death is asked to call the San Francisco tip line at 1-415-575-4444.