Hate Attack against Chinese Youth in San Francisco Goes to Trial

Tracker
6/28/04

Asian Americans in San Francisco are organizing for a hate crimes trial this week. A sixteen year old white teenager, one of a group of twenty, attacked five Chinese Americans on the Sunset District’s Taraval Street last June will be in court to face charges.

The white teens, who may be part of the Sunset District Irish gang – jumped the Asian teens after the latter had left a party. The police had broke up a beer party, involving a group of white males who were drinking there. Some of them went up to 19th Avenue and Taraval Street and attacked the Chinese youth yelling racial epithets, “Chink,” “Gooks,” and mimicking Asian languages. The white males kicked and beat the Asians.

Indicating the lack of seriousness that the police treated the attack, when police arrived, they only arrested one of the estimated 20 youth who participated in the attack. The arrested youth was released the next day because it was a "simple assault."

Hate crime charges were added after public protests from groups including the Asian Law caucus and the San Francisco Neighborhood Association and the families of the victims.