Moment of hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband caught on camera
Police bodycam video has been released showing the moment a man attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer in his San Francisco home.
Officers knock repeatedly on the front door – when it opens Mr Pelosi is holding the head of the hammer while the intruder is gripping the handle and trying to prise the 82-year-old’s hand away.
Mr Pelosi refuses to let go, before the suspect suddenly seizes control and lunges at him with the weapon.
It’s at this point Sky News has decided to stop the footage.
Police rush in, jump on the attacker and push him face down on the ground as Mr Pelosi lies motionless next to him.
The 28 October attack knocked Mr Pelosi unconscious and he had surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his arm and hands.
Former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi, one of the most senior politicians in the US, was David DePape’s intended target but was in Washington at the time.
More on Nancy Pelosi
-
Pelosi’s daughter wouldn’t have given her ‘blessing’ to run for Congress if she knew ‘price’ her family had to pay
-
Man accused of hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband named Tom Hanks as target, court hears
-
Revered and reviled Pelosi stepping back as speaker but her influence will remain
Related Topics:
- Nancy Pelosi
She said on Friday that she wasn’t going to watch the video.
“I have 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,” she said.
Mrs Pelosi said her husband was “making progress” but it will “take more time”.
The video is part of evidence newly released after journalists challenged a decision to keep it out of public view.
It also includes some of Mr Pelosi’s 911 call, images from police surveillance cameras and video from DePape’s police interview.
The surveillance video shows the suspect using a hammer to smash the glass of a door to get into the house.
DePape, 42, denies all the charges against him. They include attempted kidnapping, attempted murder, elder abuse and burglary.
High profile politicians are likely to be concerned after seeing this footage
US correspondent
@marthakelner
Both the prosecution and the defence teams in this case argued against the release of the footage of this attack, saying it would impact suspect David DePape’s right to a fair trial and fuel “distorted facts” around the case.
But a persistent campaign by news organisations convinced the judge that there was not a compelling reason to keep the footage, 911 call and a portion of a police interview with DePape under wraps.
It is, perhaps, no surprise that Nancy Pelosi doesn’t want to watch such a brutal attack on her husband of 59 years caught on police body-worn cameras. But the surveillance footage of DePape allegedly wandering around the perimeter of the couple’s San Francisco home before breaking in is also eye-opening.
Capitol police, charged with protecting the Pelosi family home, were apparently patrolling the property just metres away, seemingly unaware DePape was inside until a 911 call from Paul Pelosi. It has prompted a review of security procedures for high profile politicians.
Police said he told them there was “evil in Washington” and that he planned to hold Mrs Pelosi hostage for allegedly lying to the public.
He also believed the discredited theory that the US election was stolen from Donald Trump.
Court documents also reveal he told officers he was on a “suicide mission” while in interviews DePape named Tom Hanks as among other targets.
Immigration officials identified him as a Canadian citizen who was in the US illegally after entering as a visitor.
