Crime Attorney for Former Firefighter Who Allegedly Attacked Attacked Capitol Police With Fire Extinguisher: ‘This Fire Extinguisher Was Empty’

Robert Sanford, the former firefighter charged with assaulting three Capitol Police officers by hitting them in the head with a fire extinguisher during the U.S. Capitol siege on January 6, has obtained legal counsel. His attorney, Enrique Latoison, obtained some ill-advised notoriety of his own on Friday evening.

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The video of the lawyer who thinks it’s okay to throw a fire extinguisher at cops as long as it’s empty…

.@ChrisCuomo’s reply: “Give me a break. I hit you in the head with an empty fire extinguisher and you’re going to feel good about it?!” pic.twitter.com/A1wMdErTRA

— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) January 16, 2021

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As more rioters from the attack on the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6 get arrested, a clearer picture is emerging Earlier this month, Kenosha County district attorney Michael Graveley said that he would not file POPULAR. Judge orders detention of man accused of hurling fire extinguisher at Capitol Police .

A retired Pennsylvania firefighter allegedly caught on camera tossing a fire extinguisher at Capitol police officers during last week’s riot was arrested Thursday, authorities said. The alleged attack is not connected to the death of Officer Brian Sicknick, who died at a hospital one day after being hit in

“It’s very important to separate Mr. Sanford from some of the other things that were shown,” Latoison said during an appearance on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time. “He was not walking around with a six-foot spear, he was not, you know, physically attacking Capitol officers–”

Eponymous host Chris Cuomo then interjected to note the specific allegations: “He hit ’em in the head with a fire extinguisher.”

To which the attorney visibly swallows before replying:

Well, the first thing I’m gonna say about that is: this fire extinguisher was empty. You can see it bounces almost toy-like. There was debris and there was stuff being thrown everywhere.

“Enrique, come on, give me a break,” Cuomo responds after a bit of cross-talk. “I hit you in the head with an empty fire extinguisher. You’re going to feel good about it?”

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The fire extinguisher bounced off the head of one officer before hitting two additional officers. NEW: Retired Chester, Pa firefighter identified at Robert Sanford now faces federal charges after reportedly throwing a fire extinguisher at police during U.S. Capitol siege.

A Pennsylvania man whom authorities say threw a fire extinguisher and struck a Capitol Police officer during the deadly riot at the US Capitol last week has been arrested and charged in federal court.

Reaction to Latoison’s highly public attempt at lawyering was less than kind.

“Lawyer advice: In a [high profile] case don’t go on TV [because] you were invited to appear on TV,” advised renowned trial attorney and Law&Crime Network host Linda Kenney Baden via Twitter. “Getting your name on camera may do you good but conflicts with your client’s best interest. Say something helpful or not at all.”

Sanford was arrested by the FBI on Thursday and charged with four federal crimes. Three of those charges concerns his alleged use of the “empty” fire extinguisher as a weapon to attack three Capitol Police officers. The argument that the extinguisher was allegedly empty will bear little on one of the crimes charged. Sanford is accused of offenses which require federal prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he “use[d] or carrie[d] a deadly or dangerous weapon or firearm.” Arguably, an empty metal fire extinguisher can be dangerous or deadly by its sheer weight.

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A recently retired Pennsylvania firefighter accused of throwing a fire extinguisher at a police officer, a man photographed carrying a Confederate flag, and a Californian accused of breaking a window of the building were all arrested Thursday in last week’s riot at the U.S. Capitol . Robert Lee Sanford, Jr., 55

The fire extinguisher had actually struck three officers in the head, including one who was not wearing a helmet, authorities said. Retired Pennsylvania firefighter arrested, accused of throwing extinguisher at Capitol policeYesterday at 10:52 PMwww.usatoday.com.

To date, only one of the officers Sanford allegedly attacked has been named.

“Officer William Young of the [U.S. Capitol Police] reports that he and twenty officers and two sergeants were deployed to the Lower West Terrace of the U.S. Capitol at some point after [12 p.m.] on January 6, 2021,” court papers note. “While Officer Young was on duty and attempting to control the crowd, he felt a hard strike to the back of his helmet. When he turned to see where the blow had originated, Officer Young saw a fire extinguisher on the ground but could not determine who had struck him. Officer Young was subsequently evaluated at a hospital and cleared to return to duty.”

Prosecutors say they were able to identify Sanford based on a combination of video footage and via the help of a tipster who has known the defendant “for many years.”

Latoison quickly mounted a fulsome full-press courting effort on behalf of his client.

“I don’t disagree that my client was present in D.C. I will tell you that he was not part of any kind of organized insurrection, not part of any right-wing extremist groups,” the defense attorney told Philadelphia CBS affiliate KYW-TV. “He was not part of any of that nature. My client is very remorseful to even be involved in this situation. He’s a family man, he’s a father of three, this is not who he is. He’s embarrassed to be in this situation.”

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A similar statement was given to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“He obviously was caught up in a bad moment,” Latoison told that local daily newspaper. “That maybe minute of his life that he’s been accused of does not outweigh 55 years of a clean track record he’s been displaying.”

Prosecutors, however, maintain that Sanford owned at least one t-shirt affiliated with the far-right Proud Boys street gang, a group whose members were in full force at the U.S. Capitol Siege and who allegedly plotted to kill Vice President Mike Pence and House Majority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

[image via screengrab/CNN]

The post Attorney for Former Firefighter Who Allegedly Attacked Attacked Capitol Police With Fire Extinguisher: ‘This Fire Extinguisher Was Empty’ first appeared on Law & Crime.