San Jose police on Tuesday evening arrested a man after he attacked a plainclothes officer acting as a security detail for Mayor Matt Mahan while the mayor was in the middle of a television interview in downtown San Jose.
The mayor was not injured in the attack, which was caught on camera by KRON4-TV and posted to YouTube. The incident occurred on South First Street.
Police did not identify the suspect or the officer, who was taken to the hospital with minor injuries after the brief fistfight.
The suspect was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail, facing charges of felony assault on a police officer.
The KRON video shows a man speaking with, then punching the officer as the mayor backed off, then spoke on his cell phone as the fight continued in the street.
In a statement late Monday night, Mahan’s chief communications officer, Tasha Dean, said the mayor was grateful for his security team and the police department.
“The actions of the officer tonight were heroic and a testament to the de-escalation training that makes our officers effective, compassionate and stewards of community trust,” Dean said.
“His thoughts are with the officer and he hopes for a speedy recovery,” Dean continued. “The mayor understands how privileged he is to have an armed officer protecting him at all times and is resolved in his commitment to create a safer city for everyone.”
The officer who was assaulted did not draw his weapon during the video.
“While interviewing Mayor Matt Mahan in downtown San Jose, a man was shouting at us and fought Mayor Mahan's security guard,” KRON’s Jack Molmud posted on X. “The fight lasted a couple minutes and the man was arrested by SJPD. Police said they were compiling evidence and sending it to the DA's office.”
In the beginning of the video, a person is seen approaching the mayor’s protective detail off camera, as Mahan tells the pedestrian he is in the middle of an interview.
A black man can’t walk down the street talking on his phone without being verbally harassed by the palace guard?
Not saying the ensuing melee was justified, but it’s apparent the black man was minding his own business before being provoked by a self-entitled and arrogant government functionary. The mayor’s weapon-toting entourage should have left the black man alone.
The mayor is not the king. He doesn’t own the streets. He’s a public servant, paid to serve that black man (and the rest of us) — not the other way around.
Don, that was the assailants fault, period. The rest of your rant is the BS that has gotten our country into the mess we are in. That man deserves to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and I hope he is. Maybe then other people will start to act more civilly.
Perhaps this incident will start to wake up all of the ivory tower liberals around here. Perhaps they will begin to realize that the problems facing the rest of the country are actually here on our front door step as well. One can only hope.
The video is unclear who started the physical altercation, although it appears from the audio that the mayor’s bodyguard may have first laid hands on the black man, who at one point is seen backing off. The black man also appears from the audio to have warned the bodyguard to leave him alone or he would slap him. This would have been a good time for the bodyguard to have backed down, thereby ending the encounter; but for whatever reason the bodyguard persisted.
Additionally, the mayor and his security detail appear to have started the verbal altercation, without which there would have been no encounter whatsoever. The mayor appears to tell the bodyguard that he should not let the black man go where he was intending to go. On what authority? Royal prerogative?
https://twitter.com/Mrgunsngear/status/1783316195229171897
As I said, “I’m not saying the ensuring melee was justified.” The black man may be at fault for starting the physical confrontation, but the video does not prove it. I’m sure this will get sorted out at the black man’s criminal trial, if it gets that far. The standard is ostensibly beyond a reasonable doubt.
And I’m not saying that the Mayor and his team couldn’t have done a better job at avoiding or defusing the confrontation, but that is ultimately irrelevant. We do not resort to violence for our disagreements in civilized society, period. Hence the man should be prosecuted.
People need to stop defending that behavior and start realizing that they will suffer from it soon enough if they do not. Just ask the Mayor.
We stopped living in a civilized society when government officials coerced people to take experimental medical treatment so as to participate in society. Remember, Mayor Mahan voted to fire hundreds of cops who refused the jab. He’s obviously not concerned with public safety. He’s got his palace guard; the rest of us are on our own.
And again I do not disagree with you, we have started down the slippery slope of totalitarianism and ultimately an uncivilized society. But it’s not to late for good people to let their voices be heard and to save our Republic.
Clear case of walking while Black. Then the mayor’s team/SJPD goes with the old trope of “dangerous Black man with a record.” This cop needs de-escalation training, racial sensitivity training and combat training.
Thanks to KRON for airing this and showing the mayor in all his smug glory and the proficiency of his staff at ….texting during a crisis/”attack on the mayor.”
“I would not let him go in there” Matt Mahan-Tyrannical racist.
Nothing on that video justifies that man physically attacking another human being, no matter what color he is.
The full 6 minute video clearly shows a man walking by and trying to enter a building. Then we see the mayor snarkily say, “I wouldn’t let him go in there,” This is a VERY PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE COMMAND to his bodyguard, or whoever, to impede this Black man’s movement to wherever he was trying to enter. Why would the mayor say this? What is his business about where the Black man goes or enters into. He clearly instigated the confrontation by asking someone in his staff to not let the Black man enter.
This leads to the rightful bristle by the Black man who I am certain is all to familiar with White jerks trying to keep him from going where he wants to go. That is literally the daily life of a person of color.
The first person to touch was the security guard who is trying to make the Black man move on. He does not identify himself. He is not wearing anything that clearly shows he is a SJPD officer. A person has a right not to be touched and to defend himself if he is touched and is clearly requesting not to be touched. But the bodyguard continues to touch him and is warned not to. This is the second failure here. Why does the bodyguard need to touch him? Because the Black man is in the way of the mayor’s interview on a public sidewalk? The Black man has a right to literally stand in front of the camera if he wants to. No one is allowed to move him or touch him. It is a public right of way. This is a fact. If he decided he wanted to stand there and read the Bible or shout out curse words, that is his right.
The Black man clearly warned that if he were touched again, he would defend himself. And when he was touched again, he did just that. You can see that after he had established clear dominance over his attacker, the Black man did not escalate further, he tried to restrain the undercover officer who would not let him go and, in fact, was trying to take him down. The Black man could have clearly taken him down and beaten him to a pulp, but he did not. You can even hear him say to the officer to let him go. The one who rightfully defended himself from aggression was the Black man, and the one who exercised incredible restraint from kicking the living crap out of the other person was the Black man.
The person who comes out with the black eye was the jerk mayor who directed his staff to not let the man pass through, and then did not even try to de-escalate himself. He just stood there and watched an innocent Black man get provoked into defending his rights to move freely in public.
We should not be surprised by now that when a Black man is present, the White people show passive aggressive fear, and then turn to aggression and the legal system to assert their power.
What’s worse is how the media fail to put away their biases before really examining the situation.
People will point to the man’s language, but that is just communication of a type. Language is not assault. It is expression and a right, however it is used.
I tell you, my first instinct, when walking down a sidewalk talking on my phone, when somebody tells me I am in an interview is to punch a cop. Must happen 2-3 times a week. /s
DA Mayor is almost completely wrong in everything that he is saying.
He will likely soon feel the repercussions of his own beliefs based on how quickly we are degrading, hopefully he will figure it out then.
Don G. You said it best. It is a virus the Bellarnine babies spread. Arrogance and over inflated sense of worth. That was a police officer? My taxes pay that bald KKK looking freak to enter into mutual combat with a citizen – pretending and acting like Matt is in danger. When he was not. That’s new LEO…. Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime. Stalin.
I agree that the Mayor and Police Officer could have avoided this whole thing and that deescalation efforts were weak and ineffective.
I also feel that once things became physical, that the Mayor and aides could have and should have assisted the Officer with the physical arrest, to lessen the likelihood that anyone would be injured or worse. Instead, Mahan is seen cowering and doing nothing. He was ok with watching his personal bodyguard get struck and having to struggle with the man. Mahan is nothing but a little wuss and I’m embarrassed for him
San Jose, the decline persists. Excusing violence over mere verbal conflict has become commonplace. It’s evident that a seemingly innocuous remark, capable of triggering irrational behavior while absolving the perpetrator, will only deepen the despair of this once illustrious city.
Our tolerance of such behavior perpetuates its recurrence. The comments on this post only reinforces the notion that one’s color, sex, or orientation often dictates whether they’re deemed right or wrong. This perversion of justice stands in stark contrast to its true essence, which demands impartiality.
To suggest that Trump and/or the Republicans will dismantle our democracy, and then justify a physical assault over a verbal barb in a separate context, is a grave misjudgment. Ignoring the obstruction of basic civil rights for Jews on our college campuses simply because they are white and Jewish is disgraceful. Allowing mass migration into the country while leaving our own citizens to rot on the streets in filth with no support is a complete shame. It’s all a flawed interpretation that warrants rethinking and introspection of what is clearly right vs. wrong.
The Pedestrian (Black man) was walking in a public place. He may have been speaking loudly on the phone. But based on the video evidence. It was Mayor Matt Mahan who started the entire altercation by saying not to let him inside a building. Subsequently, the police officer. Without identifying himself as being a police officer. Without showing his SJPD badge. The undercover officer treated the pedestrian (Black man) in an extremely rude and condescending manner basically telling him to leave the area in a public place.
Matt Mahan and the undercover officer are lucky. The altercation they both/together started could have ended worse for them. I do not condone violence. And I do believe the Black man could have turned the other cheek (being treated in an arrogant and condescending manner) and simply walked away. But I also do not condone provoking a pedestrian in any public setting. Matt Mahan certainly appears to have a racial bias. He is not the right Mayor for our diverse melting pot community. Do better Matt!!! Or resign and allow someone else to be an inclusive, respectful towards all races Mayor.
Based on the video. The Pedestrian is talking on his own cell phone just walking by. Mayor Matt Mahan sees him and tells someone not to let the Pedestrian into a building. The undercover officer escalated the situation. By not identifying himself as being an officer of Law. And using an unnecessarily aggressive demeanor when ordering the Pedestrian to leave a public place.
The Pedestrian could have turned the other cheek and walked away. But it is a public place he had a right to be there. The violence is not the answer. But clearly the Pedestrian would have simply kept on walking. If Mayor Matt Mahan had not announced not to let him inside the building.
The common denominator for all the news sources including this one is, the audience is only getting one side of the story—the usual White power structure spanning government flunkies, politicians, law enforcement, sleazy DAs, the media like this rag, and commenters here trying hard to bend the narrative.
But you don’t hear the civilian’s side. No one is giving the other side of the narrative.
Let’s begin with the mayor saying, “I wouldn’t let him in…”
Why not, Mayor? What did you see about him that made you say that?
No media is asking this very basic question of the mayor. It’s a simple question:
What did you observe about the Black man on his phone walking by you and attempting to enter the building that made you passively aggressively order your staff to not let him into the place where he works?
The lazy media has so far struck out on the basic trigger that set this thing off.
And all the idiots in this comment section are just as lazy and biased.
Glad the NAACP is getting involved. In my opinion the Pedestrian would have simply kept on walking. Had Mayor Matt Mahan not said to everyone within hearing distance not to let him inside a building. Assuming Matt doesn’t own the building. The Bay Area is not the place to display white privilege.
The video is self explanatory. Even more telling is the fact that the Judge decided to release the Black male pedestrian only after he watched the video in it’s entirety. I trust the Judge saw what reasonable people see. Public place, member of the public had a legal right to be there. This was a missed opportunity. Mayor Mahan could have introduced himself as the Mayor of San Jose. Even done an impromptu Q&A session.
As usual, the loud voices are the extreme. Regardless of what was “said” the guy becomes weirdly aggressive and then physical. Hitting someone crosses the line and is unacceptable. Race is irrelevant to the situation.
There is no extreme here. This altercation could easily have been avoided by BOTH sides. Mr. Mayor started it by seeing the man approach and saying to everyone within hearing distance can we not let him inside. It would be helpful to see the entire video. The Judge decided to release after he/she viewed the full video. Even with the conditions the Judge imposed. This was a rather quick release considering the seriousness of the charges. It’s a public place Mr. Mayor doesn’t own the buildings in that area. It didn’t even seem like the man was going to enter. Again the full video would be helpful. The mature adult thing to do is to simply walk away. Both sides handled this in an immature manner.
You will all get what you vote for and defend.
Good luck.
Whatever, just to let you know. This specific incident is not what you are referring to. I have 14+ years experience working with gov officials at various levels. I was deeply disappointed when former council member Kansen Chu lost the election. The current D4 officials are not exactly the cream of the crop to work with for people of color. Bellarmine College Prep white frat boys.
Thanks for letting us know. Sorry to hear about this incident.