An Asian American San Francisco police officer is recovering after she was attacked by a man Friday as she tried to detain him.
Surveillance video captured the officer walking up to the man, identified as 33-year-old Gerardo Contreras, and giving him orders before he wrestled her to the ground. A number of civilian bystanders can be seen trying to pull the suspect off before other officers arrived to help her.
Witnesses said Contreras, who is reportedly homeless, was vandalizing rental scooters and insulting Asian individuals as they walked by him in the city’s Chinatown, according to KTVU.
“Chinese people don’t belong here,” Contreras said, according to one witness.
Community activist Max Leong described Contreras as a “fixture” in Chinatown, KTVU reported.
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“We’ve seen a rise in violent attacks by homeless individuals, including attacks on police officers,” the San Francisco Police Officers Association, a union representing the city’s officers, said in a Twitter post following the incident. “We are deeply grateful to these citizens who rushed to our officer’s aide.”
The department’s staffing shortage accounted for the unidentified officer being alone, officials added.
The officer is at home and recovering from injuries she sustained during the assault, said Tony Montoya, the union’s president.
“She’s got some scrapes, bruises, obviously sore from the incident,” Montoya said. “If this happens to a uniformed San Francisco police officer, how should your average resident, visitor, tourist feel? They should be concerned.”
Contreras was booked Saturday at about 6 a.m. on charges including assault, resisting arrest, and battery, public records provided by the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office showed. It is unclear if he will be charged with a hate crime.
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The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office directed the Washington Examiner to the San Francisco Police Department for comment, which did not immediately respond.
