2 suspects arrested after SF mayor's security officers injured in Tenderloin altercation; Lurie unharmed

SAN FRANCISCO - Two officers assigned to San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie's security detail were injured Thursday night in an altercation just outside the city's Tenderloin District. The mayor was not injured, but the security officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said. 

The incident happened around 5:40 p.m. after the mayor's car was reportedly blocked while driving along the edge of the Tenderloin near Cedar and Polk streets.

In a statement, police said it was an altercation with two unknown male subjects and that the officers had requested back up. 

Suspects arrested

What we know:

Police identified two suspects on Friday as Tony Phillips, 44, and Abraham Simon, 33.

Phillips faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon, use of threats and violence to deter an executive officer, willfully resisting, delaying or obstructing a peace officer, battery on a peace officer, misappropriation of lost property as a theft crime, willful disobedience, along with a drug-related charge.

Phillips was previously arrested on suspicion of murder in 2019, for a fight that turned deadly. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said those charges were ultimately dropped by a previous D.A. George Gascon's office. 

Simon faces charges of willfully resisting, delaying or obstructing a peace officer, an out-of-county drug warrant, and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

In a statement Thursday night, the mayor's office confirmed Lurie was not involved in the scuffle.

"There was an altercation this evening involving the mayor’s security detail. The mayor was not involved," the office said. "We appreciate our SFPD officers for their quick response and for keeping our city safe every day."

The president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association expressed gratitude to the officers assigned to the mayor's security detail, saying they acted "swiftly and courageously," calling the situation "dangerous and unpredictable."

"We are thankful for the rapid response of additional SFPD officers who quickly arrived on scene to assist and bring the situation under control," Louis Wong, association president, said.

Videos of the altercation

Dig deeper:

Mission Local shared photos Thursday night of the scuffle that show one man on the ground in handcuffs, surrounded by SFPD officers. 

The news outlet reported the mayor's vehicle was blocked by three people and that the mayor asked them to move. 

One initially complied, but ended up getting into an altercation with a member of the mayor's security detail who was left bloodied. 

Mission Local video shows the security officer being taken to the ground by one of the suspects during a struggle. 

On Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on a new and longer video of the altercation. This video, posted by a TikTok user, is about a minute and a half. It appears to be security camera footage. While the mayor told reporters his account of what happened, he also left out a detail shown in the new video, which shows Lurie's security detail is the first to shove Phillips, the suspect who eventually takes the officer down to the ground head first. 

Phillips can be seen trying to bypass the officer, who abruptly shoves him into trash lying on the sidewalk. Phillips takes a swing before the two men become entangled. 

Meanwhile, the mayor stands in place before backing up. He then walks away as the struggle continues. The mayor's pace seems to pick up just as his view on camera is blocked by a building. 

A second officer eventually runs to the first officer's aid. He's initially blocked by the second suspect, who eventually backs off. A car finally arrives with more backup for the two officers. 

We reached out to the mayor's office about the new video. They had no comment. 

Lurie addresses incident 

Speaking about the incident on Friday, Mayor Lurie said he is grateful to those officers who protect him. 

Lurie said tending to every resident of the city is his duty, so when he saw something unusual, he stopped. 

"I saw two individuals in the middle of a street, not on a sidewalk but literally in the middle of a street," Lurie said. "I was worried about them. I was worried about safety of pedestrians and cars coming. So I stopped, we asked them to get up and then the incident began." 

Lurie said as the situation unfolded, he made his way to another officer to make sure they could provide backup to the officer engaged in a struggle. The video from Mission Local shows Lurie walking away from the struggle. 

"I'm just really happy that the members of my detail are OK," Lurie said. 

Lurie said going forward he will continue to work to help those in need in the city and work with his detail to make sure that can be done safely. 

"The people of the city of San Francisco, the residents, deserve a leader that cares about what's happening on our streets, but I will, of course, talk with our SFPD leadership and the chief on this matter," Lurie said. 

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