D.A. granted restraining order against demonstrator

A protester who repeatedly confronted San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón outside of his home this year was ordered Thursday to stay at least 100 yards away from the city’s top prosecutor, his wife, their home and their vehicles for the next three years.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Charles Haines granted the petition for a restraining order against Victor Manuel Picazo after a threehour hearing in civil court in which Gascón testified on the stand.

“I’m very concerned for the safety of my family, for the emotional state of my family, and I wish that the behavior would stop,” Gascón said.

Picazo, 48, and others have long protested the district attorney on the steps of the Hall of Justice, calling for an end to police brutality, while demanding that charges be brought against the officers in several deadly police shootings.

But the demonstrations escalated when they

began protesting Gascón at his Monterey Heights home in May after the district attorney declined to file criminal charges against the officers in the controversial police killings of Mario Woods and Luis Góngora Pat.

Picazo and several others gathered outside Gascón’s home on more than six occasions through September, chanting “jail killer cops” while holding signs and writing messages in chalk on Gascón’s home and sidewalk. The protests prompted several heated exchanges that were recorded on video.

In one incident, a group was recorded standing around Gascón’s sport utility vehicle as he drove out of his garage with his wife. Picazo is seen on a video blocking the vehicle while shouting, “Run me over! Run me over!”

Picazo later said that Gascón had bruised his knee and that he sought treatment at the hospital. Gascón denied hitting Picazo.

In another incident, Gascón picked up a piece of watermelon on his stairs and flung it toward a group of demonstrators standing outside his home at night, prompting someone to shout “F— you” before hurling watermelon back at the district attorney.

Gascón also testified Thursday that one of Picazo’s associates made threatening comments, implying he hoped to see Gascón’s family die like those who have been gunned down by police. Attorney Holly Coulehan, who represented Gascón, said Picazo “did nothing to distance himself from those threats.”

The protests, Gascón said, caused him and his family substantial emotional distress and he “worried that some of this could go further.” In addition to installing $5,000 worth of security cameras and fencing around his home, Gascón said he no longer felt safe leaving his wife at home for extended periods of time.

Picazo insisted he harbored no personal animosity against the district attorney but instead blamed “the system, which needs to be changed, especially when it comes to police brutality and excessive force in San Francisco.”

His attorney, John Lee, criticized the restraining order as “a misguided effort to squash free speech.”

While he granted the restraining order, Judge Haines acknowledged Picazo’s First Amendment rights to speech and assembly. But, he noted, “There are such things as innocent third parties” who can be injured.

In addition to staying at least 100 yards from Gascón and his family in private settings, Picazo must also stay at least 10 yards from Gascón during public appearances. Picazo can still protest at the Hall of Justice, where Gascón works.

“The Hall of Justice is one place. Somebody’s home is another place,” Haines said.

As Gascón slipped out of court, Picazo’s supporters shouted that he had “blood on his hands.” One man who identified himself as Picazo’s older brother, Rafael, pledged to continue protesting Gascón “at his work and at his home.”

“Silencing one doesn’t silence us all,” he said.