Bystanders rescue Asian police officer attacked by homeless man in San Francisco

Officer was responding to calls of man harassing Asian Americans

Police officers in San Francisco have released a video of a homeless man attacking a lone female police officer and praised the people who helped her.

The San Francisco Police Association posted the clip on their Twitter page with the following caption; “We’ve seen a rise in violent attacks by homeless individuals, including attacks on police officers. 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 organisation also stated that she was in more danger by citing budget cuts, leading her to responding to calls alone when they shared the clip.

According to KTVU, the incident happened on 28 May at 7pm near San Francisco’s Portsmouth Square, in the city’s Chinatown.

Witnesses reported that the attacker had earlier been defacing rental bikes and using threatening language to people passing by, such as “Chinese people don’t belong here”.

According to statistics published last month by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, hate crime against Asian Americans has risen by 140 per cent in San Francisco in 2021. This is in comparison to the same timeframe in 2020.

In the footage, a man is seen walking around an alley, and a voice is heard asking him to “stop”.

“I don’t have nothing,” he said in reply, and he appears to be slurring his words.

The officer asks the man to “turn around, all the way around,” instructing him “to put your hands on the top of your head.”

At first, he seems to be cooperative as she proceeds to ask him if he has any weapons on his person.

Seconds later, he begins to assault her, first slapping and punching, and then traps her head underneath his hoodie, and then pushes the police officer to the ground. After pinning her body underneath his, he is seen putting his hands around her neck.

Seconds after this, people come and help her get away from his attack. At first, it is just one person, who tries to pull the man off the woman and then three more men arrive at the scene.

One is heard saying “Get the heck off of her” repeatedly.

In the background, sirens are heard blaring, coinciding with more police officers arriving to help. The man was taken into custody, according to reports.

“The female police officer was seriously injured and transported to the local hospital,” according to the Instagram page @the_asian_dawn.

Eyewitness Max Leong said that her attacker is a local character in the area.

“He’s been kind of a fixture here in San Francisco Chinatown,” Mr Leong told KVTU and said he believed the assailant had mental health issues. “It speaks to the fact that more services need to be provided for the mentally ill.”

Rate of homelessness grew in San Francisco, which is in stark contrast with the rising affluence of other sections of its popularity, during the pandemic. Currently, there are 8,000 people recorded to be homeless in the city.

“We have an opportunity to really move the dial on homelessness, but it’s going to take political leadership to really be committed to it,” Jennifer Friedenbach from the Coalition on Homelessness told The Guardian in April. “It’s going to take developing relationships with people on the streets to keep track of them so when housing opens up, you can move them in. It’s going to take hard work driven by love and empathy. That has to come through on all levels.”

The Independent has reached out to The San Francisco Police Association for comment.