Los Gatos police are searching for a bicyclist who allegedly shoved a Filipina health care worker to the ground and yelled a racist insult at her.
The attack happened Tuesday at about 5 p.m. near Los Gatos Boulevard and Garden Lane, Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Chief Peter Decena said in a YouTube video posted Friday.
Decena said the 40-year-old woman is “one of our medical heroes” and was wearing her scrubs when she was pushed. The chief described the incident, saying the victim heard someone yell “go back to expletive China,” as she was falling. When she looked up from the ground, the woman saw a bicyclist riding away.
“As a person of both Asian and Pacific Islander descent, I have been watching with shock and dismay at the continuing acts of violence and hate being directed towards people who look like me,” Decena said. “It is happening all over the country, but I am here today asking for your help with a hate crime that occurred in our own town.”
The woman was not seriously hurt, but was shaken up, the police chief added.
Decena stressed the importance of victims reporting hate crimes to police, and said a hate crime investigation is currently underway.
The suspect was described as a white male with very tan skin, or a Hispanic male. He was wearing a black or grey bicycle helmet, dark colored neck gaiter, black t-shirt with white writing on the back and dark colored jeans. The suspect was last seen riding south on Los Gatos Boulevard.
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