San Francisco Police are investigating a violent attack and possible hate crime against one of their own.
A female Asian officer was assaulted Friday evening after responding to a report of a drunken and disheveled man making threats near Portsmouth Square. When the officer confronted the man, she was attacked and thrown violently to the ground.
“Even uniformed San Francisco police officers are not immune from random acts of violence,” Tony Montoya, President of the San Francisco Police Officers Association said. “(The officer) is banged up, a little bit sore, but we are very grateful that she was released from the hospital.”
Surveillance video of the horrific attack shows the man forcing the officer to the ground and attempting to choke her. Four witnesses in the area noticed the attack, wrestled the man off of the officer and helped her pin him to the ground.
“Selfless heroic actions of all the citizens that were in the area,” Montoya said. “My God, that officer easily could’ve been killed based on what I’ve seen in the video. We are very thankful that for the citizens that got involved”
Montoya said he’ll be watching what charges district attorney Chesa Boudin files against the suspect, Geraldo Contreras. The man had been making threats against Asians prior to the assault according to Montoya, who added that he probably should have been in jail from earlier arrests.
Officials are currently investigating the case.
“The officer is female, she’s Asian. Whether or not that had anything to do with her being attacked, I’m sure the officers will look into that,” Montoya said. “Our city continues to be in a state of crisis”
