A San Francisco jury found a homeless man not guilty Friday after he was accused of using a metal pipe to beat the former San Francisco fire chief, who suffered a broken jaw, a skull fracture that required 51 stitches and a traumatic brain injury .
The brutal attack was captured on video and sparked a debate about crime and homelessness in the city.
Garret Doty, 25, was charged with three counts of assault and battery for the April 5 beating death of Don Carmignani. Doty pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors said Doty hit the 54-year-old Carmignani in revenge. But Doty's lawyers said he acted in self-defense after Carmignani sprayed him with bear spray.
Garret Doty, 25, a homeless San Francisco man, was acquitted by a jury Friday in connection with the assault of Don Carmignani, 54, the city's former fire commissioner
Don Carmignani, 54, the city's former fire chief suffered a fractured skull and jaw in the attack and required 51 stitches after Garrett Doty, 24, allegedly hit him in the head with a crowbar
Chilling footage showed Doty grabbing the crowbar from the trash can and making practice swings just before the attack.
Gruesome footage shows Doty Carmignani propped up against the wall while swinging the crowbar as he tries to defend himself.
The attack on Carmignani, a businessman who served as fire commissioner in 2013, came two days after the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee.
Lee's killing sparked a wave of criticism of city officials from top technology leaders.
Among the critics was technology billionaire Elon Musk, who mourned Lee's death on Twitter and blamed San Francisco for what he called the city's lax attitude toward crime. A technical consultant is still awaiting trial for Lee's murder.
Prosecutors alleged that Doty, right, attacked Carmignani, left, as an act of revenge and that he acted in self-defense after using bear spray on him.
The brutal attack was captured on video and sparked a debate about crime and homelessness in the city
Chilling footage shows Doty grabbing the crowbar from the trash and making practice swings just before the attack
Doty is seen chasing Carmignani down the road before leaving him for dead
The attack on Carmignani fueled the narrative of a city in chaos, but Doty's attorney argued that Doty acted in self-defense and released surveillance video showing Carmignani spraying Doty before beginning to chase him while wielding a metal pipe.
Deputy Public Defender Kleigh Hathaway said Carmignani repeatedly doused unhoused people, including Doty, with bear spray.
“Self-defense can be fierce, effective and debilitating,” Hathaway said. 'And why wouldn't that be the case? You're fighting for your life.'
In his closing arguments on Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Kourtney Bell admitted that Carmignani had a history of aggression and said he pepper-sprayed the homeless man.
Bell said he instigated the vicious attack. saying that he has in fact used bear spray on unhoused people in the Marina District on at least one occasion San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Assistant District Attorney Kourtney Bell admitted that Carmignani, believed to be pictured here, had a history of aggression and said he pepper-sprayed homeless people
Lawyers for the man accused of attacking former SF Fire Chief Don Carmignani say the person shown in this video as a bear spraying a homeless man in the face appears to be Carmignani. The video, taken in November 2021, was part of a trove of new evidence linking Carmignani to a series of bear spray attacks on homeless people
Another alleged encounter between Carmignani and another homeless man occurred in April
A confrontation between Carmignani and Doty began after Doty and two others set up tents outside the home of Carmignani's parents, who live next door in the upscale Marina District.
The former fire boss held up his first in defense but was forced to wipe the blood from his face before being hit with another blow.
Doty is seen chasing Carmignani down the road before leaving him for dead. He was in intensive care for a number of days.'
He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery causing serious bodily injury and assault with force likely to cause serious bodily harm.
But officials then released him back onto the streets of the crime-ridden city after blaming Carmignani for the attack.
Carmignani said in an interview with KPIX-TV that he asked Doty to move because they were blocking his parents' entrance
Carmignani claimed that on the morning of the attack, three people were “smoking crack cocaine” leaning against his mother's door.
Carmignani said in an interview with KPIX-TV that he asked Doty to move because they were blocking his parents' entrance.
He claimed he had to take matters into his own hands after several 911 calls from his mother fell on deaf ears.
He went outside to talk to the homeless. and that the only thing he had on him was pepper spray.
“I didn't go there to fight anyone. I'm trying to get them on the road, to go to the park,” Carmignani told the station.
'It is pathetic. My city is in chaos. They drive out all local residents and anyone who pays taxes. Something has to change, the city is on fire.
“My daughter and her friends have spray with them, what if it was one of them when there are animals on the street saying they are going to rape your daughter and kill your mother and you have nothing to do or help?” he said.