Former San Francisco fire commissioner brutally attacked as crime soars
Joe Alioto Veronese is a friend of the former San Francisco fire commissioner and he joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss the attack and how crime has derailed public safety in the city.
The friend of a former fire commissioner who was reportedly brutally beaten with a pipe and slashed with a knife outside his home last week issued a stark warning on crime in the city – just days after the fatal stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee.
Joe Alioto Veronese, a former San Francisco fire commissioner and lifelong resident, joined "Fox & Friends First" to discuss the heinous attack on former San Francisco fire Commissioner Don Carmignani and what is at stake for the city if crime continues to run rampant.
"The leadership here, the mayor's office and the DA's office are trying to make this feel anecdotal, but in fact, in San Francisco has become a very dangerous place to live," Alioto Veronese told Ashley Strohmier Monday. "And with the murder of Bob Lee, a lot of tech titans here in San Francisco are paying attention."
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"We're we're in a very sketchy stage right now in San Francisco because those same tech titans are deciding whether or not San Francisco is a safe city for their thousands and thousands of employees," he continued. "And so this city will see a doom loop. It will spiral into a doom loop if we can't keep those jobs here in San Francisco, and if we can't keep the people of San Francisco safe. It's not rocket science."
The 53-year-old former fire commissioner, who is expected to survive, reportedly received more than 50 stitches following the attack, and even needed surgery on his skull.
San Francisco police told Fox News Digital on Friday that a 24-year-old suspect named Garret Doty had been arrested. He faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and battery causing serious injury.
A video shared to the Citizen App shows a man carrying a metal object in the area of the attack in San Francisco's Marine District Wednesday. (Citizen App)
San Francisco Supervisor Catherine Stefani, who represents the neighborhood where the attack took place, reportedly said during a city meeting after the attack that a shortage of personnel in the city's police department may have led to the incident.
She said Carmignani's mother had previously called police on a group of homeless drug users outside her front door, according to The San Francisco Standard. But no one arrived, so he went out to shoo them away.
Alioto Veronese blamed the defund the police movement for the notable staffing shortages, which he warned could make crime worse at a time when the city's need for law enforcement is at a critical juncture.
"We're going to end up in a scenario where… these people don't want to be a police officer in San Francisco because they're just not getting the support, and so we're going to have a lot less of them in the streets, which is going to become more dangerous," he said.
According to city data, the San Francisco Police Department is understaffed by a whopping 541 officers.
An audit of state records even revealed the San Francisco Police Department hired dozens of either unqualified or undocumented officers to tackle the surmounting shortage, according to a report published back in March.
And although some city crime statistics indicate most major crimes have declined since last year, some violent crimes have trended in the other direction.
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Murders have spiked 20% and robbery has surged more than 13% so far this year, in comparison to last year, according to data from the San Francisco Police Department.
"The problem is San Francisco has been a very transient city. People come here for jobs and then when they get to the point where they go to get married, and they have children, they end up leaving San Francisco," Alioto Veronese said.
"But the people like myself and Don Carmignani, Commissioner Carmignani, who are lifelong San Franciscans, we're the ones that just don't want to leave. And we're seeing a lot more of them leaving," he continued. "In fact, Don's family announced this week that they will be leaving San Francisco. They just can't take it anymore."
The attack happened just days after Lee, a 43-year-old father of two, was stabbed to death in the affluent Rincon Hill neighborhood, just outside the financial district.
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The tech titan reportedly stumbled down a sidewalk early Tuesday morning, clutching at a wound on his side before a driver ignored his apparent pleas for help and left him for dead on a San Francisco sidewalk, according to a local report.
Alioto Veronese argued it will "take new leadership" to get the city moving in the right direction. He also explained the dire need for law enforcement support and the reversal of rules that "tie their hands behind their back" when it comes to enforcing the law.
Despite the severity of Carmignani's attack, Alioto Veronese said he is on the "road to recovery" after fighting for his life last week.
"Thank God he's a big guy," Alioto Veronese said. "If I had sustained those injuries, I wouldn't be here today, so he's on the road to recovery."
Fox News' Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.