A disagreement between two men turned violent Thursday, when a painter who objected to being filmed ended up getting punched.
Police say that the confrontation occurred at 2 p.m. Thursday, on the 300 block of Turk Street,which is between Leavenworth and Hyde Streets.
According to the San Francisco Police Department, the 34-year-old male victim "was sitting on the sidewalk, painting," when a man in his mid-30s "started recording" him as he painted.
When the painter asked the videographer to stop shooting, police say the man behind the camera "called [the victim] a derogatory name and threatened to beat him up."
The victim then tried to remove himself from the situation, police say, but the suspect "punched him in the face."
A second man then joined the fray, punching the victim "several times...while removing [the victim's] cellphone from his pocket.
As the suspects walked away from the injured man, police say that "several people yelled to give the phone back." As a dubious compromise, the phone thief "eventually threw it on the ground," according to the SFPD.
The painter, who police say was still in pain when they arrived, refused medical attention. His attackers remain at large, and no arrests have been made in the case.