Bare Courage: Nudists Save Tourist from Blowtorch Attack in San Francisco
Two nudists helped save a tourist who was allegedly being assaulted by a man, police said.
A pair of nudists in San Francisco sprang into action recently when they saw a man attacking a tourist with a blowtorch in broad daylight, and one of them punched the assailant and chased him off.
The nude good Samaritans, identified by The San Francisco Standard as Pete Sferra of San Jose and Lloyd Fishback of San Francisco, were walking through San Francisco's Castro District when they spotted a "crazy kind of pirate guy" wielding a blowtorch and threatening a tourist.
A video shared on social media shows the assailant, identified as known neighborhood nuisance Zero Triball, threatening a man with the blowtorch just before a bystander sneaks up behind him and grabs it out of his hand.
Triball then punches the tourist, and a fully naked Fishback responds by punching Triball as the first victim escaped. Fishback and Triball both tumble to the ground, and as Fishback gets back to his feet, he delivers an underhand slap to Triball's face.
“My buddy Lloyd is a quiet, respectful guy, but he didn’t waste any time and nailed the guy with a right hook,” Sferra told The San Francisco Standard.
After the smackdown, Triball can be seen walking away from the scene.
County jail records show Triball was booked into jail on suspicion of multiple charges, including exhibiting a deadly weapon, battery, and assault with force likely to commit great bodily injury. His next court date is scheduled for July 19.
Business owners in the area told the Standard that Triball has a history of causing problems in the neighborhood.
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Terry Asten Bennett, president of the Castro Merchants Association, told the outlet that Triball is “erratic and violent.” She said he shouted at her employees and threw merchandise at her store Cliffs Variety several years ago. She also said the nearby Castro Country Club, a sober community center, had a restraining order against Triball back in 2021, but it is no longer in effect.
Castro Country Club manager Brandon Stanton told the Standard that Triball threatened to burn the building down, and when staff tried to offer him support services, he threatened to kill the executive director.
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San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, whose district includes the Castro, told the outlet that he has previously dealt with Triball, and has pushed for the expansion of conservatorship in part because of him.
“In my view, he’s a guy who’ll continue committing medium violent crimes,” Mandelman said. “I don’t think he should be left to manage his own life. He should be in a conservatorship.”
Sferra, meanwhile, hopes Fishback's heroism helps lessen the stigma for nudists in the LGBTQ+ neighborhood.
“Over the years we’ve been doing this, we’ve tried to show the neighborhood that we’re regular people — we just have a relaxed idea of what we’re supposed to wear,” he said. “We just want to be seen as good contributing members of the community.”
TMX contributed to this report.
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