Story at a glance
- Surveillance video of the incident shows the officer order the suspect to face away from her and put his hands on his head.
- The suspect ignores her commands and attacks her, taking her to the ground.
- Several men then jump in to pull the man off the officer until more police arrive on the scene.
A group of bystanders is being credited for helping a female Asian American police officer who was attacked by a man in San Francisco’s Chinatown area last week.
the female officer confronted the man Friday after he was allegedly threatening people in the area.
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Surveillance video of the by the San Francisco Police Officer’s Association shows the officer order the suspect to face away from her and put his hands on his head.
The suspect ignores her commands and attacks her, taking her to the ground.
Several men then jump in to pull the man off the officer until more police arrive on the scene.
“There was a point where he had tackled her and I was like okay this isn’t going on - or this isn’t going right, and just kind of jumped in,” Andy Min, one of the men who helped the officer, told .
The officer was taken to the hospital and suffered minor injuries.
Police arrested 33-year-old Geraldo Contreras on charges of assault on a peace officer, false imprisonment and resisting arrest with a hate crime enhancement, according to CBS San Francisco. Contreras is believed to be homeless.
“We’ve seen a rise in violent attacks by homeless individuals, including attacks on police officers,” the San Francisco Police Officer’s Association .
“We are deeply grateful to these citizens who rushed to our officer’s aide. Our staffing shortage left this officer working alone instead of with a partner,” the association said.
The disturbing assault comes amid an increase in anti-Asian attacks in the U.S.
A recent report from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino found anti-Asian hate crimes in major U.S. cities increased 169 percent in the first quarter of 2021 from the same period last year.
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