FILE – In this Jan. 31, 2020, file photo, a masked worker cleans a street in the Chinatown district in San Francisco. Police are stepping up patrol and volunteers are increasing their street presence after several violent attacks on older Asians stoked fear in the San Francisco Bay Area’s Chinatowns and subdued the celebratory mood leading up to Chinese New Year. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)
San Francisco, along with the rest of the country, has unfortunately seen an uptick in violent crimes against Asian Americans and Chinese Americans since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
San Francisco Police Department have acknowledged the rise in crimes and have been on patrol to keep neighborhoods safe.
In a press release, “San Francisco Police also urge all members of the Chinese community to be suspicious of strangers claiming to provide relief from a curse or illness or those who provide “purification” ceremonies in which cash and valuable items must be offered as part of the process.”
San Francisco Mayor London Breed expressed her concerns on the, “Unacceptable attacks against our Asian community” on Twitter.
This weekend I’ve been out with our teams from the Street Violence Intervention Program after a number of unacceptable attacks against our Asian community.
Violence has no place in our city. We’re working with our partners in Chinatown to prevent it and hold people accountable. pic.twitter.com/uy1jRNGRVQ
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) February 15, 2021
SF police have investigated multiple racially motivated crimes including in the, “Sunset District where an Asian American woman’s home was vandalized and a letter saying, “I wear my mask if I want F**KING ASIAN you create the virus” reported ABC7.”
CNN reported, ” Stop AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Hate has received more than 2,800 firsthand reports of anti-Asian hate across 47 states and Washington, DC, since March 19.”
“The rapid increase in criminal acts targeted against members of the Asian community, particularly Chinese Americans, who live and work in Alameda County is intolerable,” Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said as she announced the creation of a special response unit focused on crimes against Asians, and particularly older Asians.
“In Oakland’s Chinatown neighborhood, police said a man violently shoved three unsuspecting people on January 31, injuring a 91-year-old man, a 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman,” explained CNN.
John Rothmann discusses Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Chinatown and how Chinese Americans have become targets in San Francisco.