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Paul Pelosi attack: Police scanner recordings give eerie insight into break-in

San Francisco Police cordon the area around U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s home on the 2600 block of Broadway in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, October 28, 2022. | Benjamin Fanjoy/The Standard

San Francisco police dispatch recordings shed more light on the attack of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, Friday morning.

Mr. Pelosi was attacked with a hammer at approximately 2:27 a.m. on Friday morning, after officers responded to the 2600 block of Broadway in the Pacific Heights neighborhood for a welfare check. David DePape, a 42-year-old Berkeley resident has been taken into custody and will be charged with attempted murder, among other charges, according to the district attorney.

Recordings posted online from the police scanner traffic paint a terrifying picture of the alleged attacker, DePape, claiming to be a friend of Speaker Pelosi's to her husband inside the home.

In back and forth radio chatter about the incident at the Pelosi home, one dispatcher said: "RP [Reporting Person Mr. Pelosi] stated that there's a male in the home and that he's going to wait for his wife. RP stated that he doesn't know who the male is. Be advised that his name is David, and that he is a friend. RP sounded somewhat confused."

Officers later attended the home and witnessed Mr. Pelosi and the suspect holding a hammer. The suspect is then said to have struck Mr. Pelosi before being apprehended and disarmed by police.

The speaker’s office issued a statement Friday afternoon saying that Mr. Pelosi was recovering from successful surgery for a skull fracture and serious injuries he sustained to his right arm and hands. The statement also said that the assailant demanded to see the speaker and threatened the life of her husband.

Jonah Owen Lamb can be reached at jonah@sfstandard.com