Overview
- The first full day of testimony featured two San Francisco police officers describing the scene, videos and photos, as defense attorneys lodged frequent technical objections.
- A neighbor testified that he photographed Antoine Watson standing over 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee moments after the shove.
- Legal analysts say prosecutors will argue implied malice from striking an elderly man, while the defense frames the shove as an impulsive act tied to a mental-health crisis.
- Watson, now 24, has pleaded not guilty to murder, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon in the 2021 attack captured on surveillance video; Ratanapakdee died two days later.
- No hate-crime charge was filed under former District Attorney Chesa Boudin and the decision remains in place, as the long-delayed trial proceeds with an expected schedule into mid-January.