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Ex-fire commissioner under investigation for alleged bear spray attacks
Don Carmignani, a former San Francisco fire commissioner, is under investigation for possibly using bear spray on people who are homeless. A homeless man is accused of beating Carmignani with a metal rod, but the suspect's attorney has claimed that Carmignani is known for targeting unsheltered people.
A former San Francisco fire commissioner is being investigated by city police for potentially using bear spray on homeless people in a series of attacks.
The ex-commissioner, Don Carmignani was beaten with a metal rod by a man who is homeless in the city's Marina neighborhood last month. But Carmignani has not cooperated with the investigation into that alleged attack, forcing authorities to release that suspect, Garret Doty, from jail.
Now, Police Chief Bill Scott said that his department is investigating claims by the homeless man's attorney that Carmignani has used bear spray on homeless people on eight occasions.
Scott told the San Francisco Board of Supervisors this week that police do not have a consistent description of the person from the spraying incidents.
"There has been information that all the descriptions are the same. They are not," said Scott. "There is a wide variety of descriptions in terms of age, weight and things of that nature. So, we start there."
Through a statement from his attorney, Carmignani denies using the repellant on people who are homeless.
Although Doty has been released from jail, prosecutors have not dropped the attempted murder charge against him. His attorney said that he was defending himself from Carmignani.