A man who allegedly spat at and yelled racial slurs at an Asian family was arrested for hate-motivated assault Tuesday.
Just past noon on Tuesday, a non-uniformed Victoria police officer, who was in civilian clothes and driving their personal vehicle at the time, saw a shirtless man acting erratically in the 3000-block of Quadra Street. The man yelled and “postured aggressively” toward a man and his child, according to a VicPD news release. The family then moved away from the shirtless man and weren’t harmed.
The officer called for additional uniformed officers as he followed the suspect, who was headed towards Quadra Elementary School. The officer said the suspect obtained a broom handle and approached a woman walking with a stroller and her four children. Police say the man spat at the family, narrowly missing one child, and yelled anti-Asian racial slurs at them.
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Police say the non-uniformed officer intervened and the man attacked and damaged the officer’s vehicle. Uniformed officers arrived and arrested the man, who was transported to VicPD cells and held in custody.
The man faces recommended charges of assault and mischief and police are treating the incident as a hate-motivated crime.
Police noted that B.C. and North America have seen significant increases in hate-motivated crimes against the Asian community. Vancouver police reported a 717 per cent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes between 2019 and 2020. VicPD say those increases have not been seen in Victoria or Esquimalt.
Anyone with information about this incident involving the arrested man is asked to call the VicPD report desk at 250-995-7654 extension 1. To report anonymously, call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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