A 49-year-old man attempting to lure police in to shooting him to death went on a rampage in his SoMa apartment building Tuesday night that ended in a brutal-looking punch-up from SFPD officers and accusations of police brutality. The man, who has not been identified, apparently assaulted multiple victims in his building near Third and Perry Streets to get the attention of responding police officers before threatening them with a gun he didn't have.

Before the incident, the suspect apparently wrote suicidal status updates on a social networking website like: "I'm gonna check out. Tonight is the night," and "OK, the cops are coming here, I'm gonna pretend to have a gun and they will shoot me, remember the movie Butch Cassidy."

Bay City News describes the scene:

When the officers initially arrived, they found a resident who said her neighbor had knocked on her door, then forced his way into her apartment and struck her in the face, police said.

The suspect then went back into the hallway and confronted the building manager, who was trying to intervene. The suspect kicked the building manager several times until another employee stopped the attack, police said.

The suspect then fled from the building, but later returned after police had responded to the scene.

After returning to the apartment building, the suspect claimed he had a gun, causing one responding officer to draw his own (non-imaginary) weapon before his partner tackled the man to the ground. In the ensuing brawl, the man tried to bite one of the cops despite all the pepper spray they hit him with. The third officer to arrive ended the scuffle by repeatedly punching the suspected as he was on the ground.

While the incident went down, a neighbor was filming the whole thing through a cracked doorway down the hall. ABC7 ended up with the footage, which they brought to the attention of Public Defender Jeff Adachi — a noted fan of police misconduct caught on tape — and now he's ready to bring the charges of police brutality. ABC7 has the nightly news report:

One of the cops in the brawl suffered a contusion after hitting his head on a wall and a second officer apparently got scratched up pretty good. The third officer, the one with the fists of fury, suffered "serious injuries to his hand" and had to be treated at a hospital. The suspect, meanwhile, is getting a psych evaluation and will likely be booked on suspicion of felony threats against a public official, felony battery on a police officer, resisting arrest and two counts of misdemeanor battery.

[BCN/Appeal]
[ABC7]