SAN FRANCISCO — A 33-year-old man is facing assault and hate crime charges after surveillance video shows him attacking a San Francisco officer. Several bystanders jumped in to try and remove the man from on top of the officer, video shows.
Warning: The video contained in this story shows a violent assault and may be disturbing to some
Over the holiday weekend, the officer responded to Chinatown after calls about a man making threats. The man initially follows the officer's orders to turn around and put his hands on his head. However, the video shows, then the man shoves the officer to the ground.
The officer was identified by San Francisco police as a female of Asian descent.
We’ve seen a rise in violent attacks by homeless individuals, including attacks on police officers. We are deeply grateful to these citizens who rushed to our officer’s aide. Our staffing shortage left this officer working alone instead of with a partner. pic.twitter.com/f9RfkU6NCc
— San Francisco POA (@SanFranciscoPOA) May 31, 2021
The man punched the officer in the head and face as bystanders ran over. They yelled at him to get off, while they pulled at his shirt and arms. At one point, four bystanders were trying to get the man off the officer.
A few moments later, other officers show up and are able to arrest the man.
The police say the officer who was attacked is recovering from non-life-threatening injuries.
The attack comes as verbal and physical assaults against Asian Americans, especially women, have been on the rise. There were around 2,410 anti-Asian hate incidents in the first three months of this year, according to a report released by Stop AAPI Hate in May, according to CNN.
