SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) - San Francisco Mayor London Breed was joined by the city's police chief and other local leaders as she checked in with merchants along Clement Street in the Richmond District.
City officials addressed what they are doing to try and reign in the rise in hate crimes that have been targetting Asian Americans.
The mayor walked several blocks of Clement Street with the police chief and introduced merchants to the new captain of the Richmond District police station.
She was joined by the district's new Supervisor Connie Chan and State Assemblyman David Chui.
They said the neighborhood has seen a rise of burglaries, vandalism, and hate crimes -- mostly targeting Asians.
There have been violent attacks, including one in the nearby Anza Vista neighborhood where an elderly Asian man was killed after being pushed to the ground.
“An attack on any senior in the city is an attack on all of us. We have to take responsibility, this senseless violence can never be OK,” Mayor Breed said.
David Chiu is trying to pass a bill that would establish a hate crime hotline run by the California Department of Justice.
“This is not just a San Francisco phenomenon, this is not just a California phenomenon, this is an American phenomenon at this time,” Chiu said.
San Francisco police already has a similar hotline.
Chiu shared a picture of a note that was left at an Asian-owned car wash in San Mateo a few days ago. It reads 'China cheats, kills, gives us COVID.'
Chief Bill Scott says they are changing their policies so they can track incidents similar to that note.
“That’s not a crime but it’s a shame and we want to know about it, we want to track it and the individuals to do that, if they do commit a crime that amounts to a hate crime, that is evidence we can use," Scott said.
While there has been talk of cutting the number of officers as one of the ways to close the $600 million deficit the city is facing, Mayor Breed says she is looking to make cuts in other departments instead of saying with what is happening in the city, we can't afford to lose one police officer.
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/2MrzSAu
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