Charles Jung, an attorney from the California Asian Pacific American Bar Association, is asking the public for help with identifying the man who attacked his elderly parents in Downtown San Francisco last week.
What happened: Speaking to NBC Bay Area, Jung recounted the first incident, in which the man almost knocked his 85-year-old father off his cane when he kicked his bad leg. The first attack was not captured on CCTV.
- Jung’s parents encountered the man again about 20 minutes later, and that time, the incident was captured on video. “The man points and shouts at my parents and my dad tries to take a picture so he can give it to the police,” Jung said.
- Jung recalled how his father could not hear what the attacker was saying during the incident and how his mother screamed while they were being assaulted. The surveillance footage also shows the man picking up a construction sign to throw at the elderly couple.
Seeking justice: Following the attack, Jung went out to gather evidence of the incident, adding that he and his parents were not getting any response from the police.
- “We want a record that says, ‘Look there’s this guy attacking old Asian people on the street’ that should at least be documented,” Jung said.
- One of the several Asian Americans who have commented on issues regarding the authorities’ response to anti-Asian attacks is Forrest Liu, coordinator of the Chinatown Safety Patrol. Liu started the community-driven volunteer group in January following the attack on Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old Thai American who died after being shoved by a teenager in a neighborhood in San Francisco.
- “Your first instinct should be to contact law enforcement and not have to take matters into your own hands. I think that really paints a picture of how much public safety is an issue right now,” Liu said.
Other details: Jung was one of the Asian American attorneys who penned a letter to San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin in October regarding the Vicha Ratanapakdee case and the wave of anti-Asian attacks in the city, according to ABC7 News.
- “On behalf to the Vicha Ratanapakdee family, we ask that the DA to commit to timely communicating with victims of hate and providing language interpretation services and identifying what he and his office are doing to protect the API community and to be transparent in how he’s making decisions in charging hate crimes,” the letter read in part.
- The letter was co-signed by eight other organizations, including the SF Case, Stand With Asians, the Chinatown Safety Patrol and Southeast Asian Development Center.
Featured Image via NBC Bay Area
