SAN DIEGO — A San Diego man says he was attacked in downtown by an unsheltered person and he caught some of what happened on his iPhone camera. Then, his wife contacted CBS 8 with their story and cell phone video, seen in the video featured in this story.
She says the man in the video looked like he was unsheltered and police later told her he has a driver’s license from Arizona. She says he attacked her husband as they were picnicking on the lawn at the “kissing statue” beside the Midway.
“The guy attacked my husband, who coached running for many years. My husband got away because he is quick. But the man grabbed the back of his collar and ripped the shirt off his body," said Cindy.
The couple says the man was sleeping in a hammock and he got angry because he said they woke him and disturbed his sleep. They say he started swearing at them and threatened violence, and threatened to throw them in the water beside the Midway. So the pair packed up their picnic and walked closer to the Fish Market Restaurant to be closer to people.
“I’m thinking he’s going to follow through with wanting to beat me up, that’s what he said. I was backing up and he was coming towards me and I realized as he was getting really close, I threw my cell phone in my pocket and started running. We were spinning around different trees and parking meters," explained Mark.
As the man in the video lunges at Mark, the video goes dark. But you can still hear what’s happening. You can hear Cindy talk to a 911 dispatcher. She says, “He’s OK. He doesn’t need a medic but his shirt is completely ripped.” You can also hear when police arrive. They ask Mark, “What was this about?” Mark says, “Nothing. We were eating our cake by the tree there. He had his hammock all set up and he said shut your mouth, dirty language and said get out of here. I’ll beat you up and throw you in the water.”
We asked Mark how he felt in that moment.
“It’s unsettling being a native to San Diego. I thought this wasn’t going to happen to me. I wasn’t out looking for trouble," he said.
CBS 8 continues to report situations like this week after week. This situation with Mark and Cindy happened in September. Cindy says the reason she decided to reach out to CBS 8 now, is because she keeps hearing about violent conflicts with homeless people and she hopes her story can get city leaders’ attention and something can change.
“I know that there are homeless, and I know that it is complicated, but as more and more of these violent incidents are happening, it’s making me afraid," Cindy added.
Mark and Cindy wanted to press charges. But the man in the video told police that Mark attacked him. Officers said since they did not see what happened personally, they would have to arrest both men if the couple really wanted to press charges. Cindy says she had the names and numbers of people in the area who said they would be witnesses to what happened, but the officer said that was not sufficient to counter the man’s claims. Because they did not want Mark to be arrested, they dropped it.
“Something’s got to change. We can't have people afraid to walk around and we can't have people who are potentially dangerous walking around and threatening people. That’s no way to live," said Cindy.
We reached out to the police department multiple times about this situation and never got a response. We also reached out to the mayor’s office to find out more about the mayor’s policy toward the city’s homeless situation. No one responded or even acknowledged our request.
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