SAN FRANCISCO – Political leaders in the San Francisco Bay Area form task forces and speak out against anti-Asian violence following a spate of recent incidents, including two attacks on older men captured on video.
In Oakland, California, on Feb. 5, police arrested a man suspected of a series of attacks in that city’s Chinatown, including allegedly pushing a 91-year-old man to the ground.
28-year-old Yahya Muslim was indicted on Tuesday and will return March 2 for a plea in Alameda County Superior Court. A lawyer for Mr. Muslim could not be reached.
The attacks spurred Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley to establish a special response unit that she said would have members speaking Cantonese and Mandarin that aims to build trust and engagement with crime victims.
“Since the inception of Covid-19 we have seen an increase in crime against Asian Americans,” said Ms. O’Malley.
In San Francisco, a video of a Jan. 28 attack on Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old man originally from Thailand, has sparked fear among older Asian-Americans in the city, local activists said. Mr. Ratanapakdee was on a morning walk in a residential enclave when he was knocked to the ground by a man who ran into him. Mr. Ratanapakdee died in a local hospital two days later.
Authorities have charged 19-year-old Antoine Watson with murder and elder abuse.
Sliman Nawabi, a public defender who represents Mr. Watson, said his client had no intention of murdering Mr. Ratanapakdee and was likely unaware of the man’s race or age. Mr. Watson pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“I know it’s gotten a lot of attention … because there have been other incidents in the Bay Area, targeting Asian-Americans nationally,” said Mr Nawabi. “But this case is not motivated here by Mr. Ratanapakdee’s race or age.”
According to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, attacks on people of Asian descent in the US have been increasing since the start of the pandemic last year. In March and April, there were more anti-Asian hate crimes in several cities than the previous full-year 2019 totals, said Brian Levin, a criminal law professor and director of the center.
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