But, we can't solve a problem without knowing how big it is,"San Francisco assemblymember and chair of the state's budget committee,Phil Ting, said in a statement. In an unprovoked attack, Antoine Watson, 19, charged at Vichar Ratanapakdee, 84, on Thursday during the senior's morning walk. But what brought her out to the rallies, more than anything, was her desire for someone to answer for the loss of her father. Video footage shows the teen running at Ratanapakdee and pushing him over, knocking him to the ground. Chan shared a photo of the person he said attacked him, who appeared to be Black, with reporters. let gads_event; Antoine didnt wake up Jan. 28, 2021, with the idea of shoving somebody down and killing them, regardless of their race or gender. Former President Donald Trump repeatedly described the coronavirus or COVID-19 as the "Chinese virus," a reference to its outbreak from Wuhan, China. A young man in a gas mask and a bulletproof vest said he had flown in from New York City after seeing the video. In the . Please enter valid email address to continue. In April, Monthanus and Eric attended a rally opposite City Hall, where a hundred or so people gathered on a sandy plaza for speeches and martial-arts demonstrations. His death helped awaken the nation to a rise in anti-Asian violence. Around midnight, after Eric and the boys went to bed, the two women drove to the corner with a bucket, gloves and a dish brush. KGO obtained surveillance footage which apparently shows Antoine Watson, 19, knocking down Vicha Ratanapakdee, 84, in front of his San Francisco home.Officers reportedly discovered Ratanapakdee on a sidewalk and rendered aid before paramedics rushed him to the hospital . SAN FRANCISCO, CAA San Francisco African-American teen accused of murdering 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee in January 2021 was ordered to stand trial, a judge ruled Friday.. Anita Nabha, 20-year-old Antoine Watson's attorney, said he was distressed after a "stressful encounter with police hours earlier" and may not have known the man was elderly, reports the San . SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) A man charged in the brutal assault of an 84-year-old San Francisco man that was captured on video last month will remain in custody following a court hearing Monday. The next day, Monthanus tried to retrace her fathers steps. She wasnt sure if Troy even knew what was happening. Mr. Vicha went on to study at Thammasat University in Bangkok, one of the countrys most prestigious institutions. Their marigold robes glowed in the sun. It was then that Mr. Vicha walked up Anzavista Avenue, a street with views of skyscrapers in the citys financial district. San Francisco District Attorneys office stated that Watson had been observed and contacted by San Francisco Police officers earlier that morning for traffic violations following a minor collision and was issued a citation. ALSO READ: Suspects Sought In Home Invasion Robbery Of Elderly Woman In San Francisco. What made her father bleed out like that? Everyone fell silent. When Wan first set up her branch there, the Bayview was in the midst of a drastic demographic shift that was occurring throughout the region, marked by an influx of Asians and an exodus of Black residents. } But let's try to make it work anyway. He died shortly after being rushed to a hospital. We were like, Is this a hate crime? He was like, I cant talk about this, Eric says. Monthanus could now see her father enter the frame as he climbed up the hill and to a corner where he would have continued straight. window.adsContainer = {"positionAfterTitle":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle5_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position2":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_After_Title_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position3":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Below_Next_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position4":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position5":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle1_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position6":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle2_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position7":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle3_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position8":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle4_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position9":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle5_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position10":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle6_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position11":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle7_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position12":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle8_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position13":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle9_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position14":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle10_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position15":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle11_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position16":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle12_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"positionTop":{"code":"Article_Desktop_970x250_Header_Rel","isOrganicUserAd":false,"max_width":970,"max_height":250},"positionBottom":{"code":"Article_Desktop_Sidebar_Bottom_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":300,"max_height":600},"positionBottomRight":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_After_Title_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":336,"max_height":280}} A preliminary hearing for the man accused of fatally pushing Vicha Ratanapakdee in San Francisco last year commenced on Tuesday, reigniting calls for justice and an end to anti-Asian violence. Monthanus wailed softly. SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The suspect in the brutal assault that fatally injured an 84-year-old San Francisco resident last week entered a not guilty plea to a homicide charge during a court appearance Wednesday. She wanted to be strong for her sons, but she had trouble sleeping at night and broke into tears unexpectedly. As Vicha recovered from each operation, Monthanus had slept on the floor next to his bed, comforting him through the pain. On the corner where Vicha paused in his steps, theres a view of the bay and the skyscrapers downtown. Watson can be seen running up to Ratanapakdee and violently shoving him in video from SF CBS Local near the corner of Fortuna and Anza Vista. He believes that the attacks on the elderly and the Atlanta shootings led more people to file reports. But in practice, proving bias is difficult, especially when theres no explicit expression of it. Its like being bullied. That evening, the couple stood at the doorway to her fathers room on the third-floor intensive-care unit. According to the San Francisco District Attorney's office, Watson had been observed and contacted by San Francisco Police officers earlier that Thursday morning for traffic infractions resulting in a minor collision. I told him to walk that way. Mourners have left flowers and condolences by a garage door at the spot where Mr. Vicha was attacked in the Anza Vista neighborhood of San Francisco. Among Asian-Americans, many of whom have endured racist taunts, rants and worse during the coronavirus pandemic, the killing of a defenseless older man became a rallying cry. The San Francisco District Attorney's office told KPIX 5 on Monday that their detention motion to hold 19-year-old Antoine Watson without bail was granted by the court. She found it hard to follow the legal vocabulary and felt bad asking Eric to explain terms and intricacies. There will be consequences. Legal Statement. Image: San Francisco District Attorney . But leaders of the Bay Area Asian community say crime statistics are misleading because Asian-American residents, especially immigrants, often do not report assaults or robberies out of mistrust of the system or language barriers. District Attorney responds to the . Any other narrative is false, misleading, and divisive. Nawabi added that Watson comes from a biracial family background and had no knowledge of Mr. Ratanapakdees race or vulnerabilities since the elderly man was wearing a mask, hat, sweater and jeans. She felt similarly snubbed after asking the advocate about applying for compensation for lost wages. Members of the department's arson task force took . At one point, the couple agreed to stop going to rallies for a while. Vicha Ratanapakdee, a Thailand native who his family says emigrated to America to . Chesa Boudin, the San Francisco district attorney, says Mr. Vichas death was heinous. Pa, can you hear me? she repeated. Then, in a jacket, jeans and a white baseball cap, he slipped out of the apartment, down two flights of stairs and into the foggy morning. This is a hate crime.. That he still had a life ahead of him. California lawmakers have approved$1.4 million in state funds to help Asian Americans report hate incidents following the recent uptick. A close friend, also searching, sent her two links that vaguely mentioned Vicha, including an article published in Chinese by KTSF, a local outlet serving a primarily Chinese American audience. This arrest data includes all information on current and previous arrests for Antoine Watson A Feb. 9 report by Stop Asian American Pacific Islander Hate foundover 2,808 firsthand accounts of anti-Asian hate from 47 states and the District of Columbiabetween March 19, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2020, with 126 accounts (7.3% of total incidents)of anti-Asian hate involving Americans over 60 years old. When we go to the beach we can dream that he is with us., She plans to bring the other urn back to her fathers hometown in southern Thailand, where the local Buddhist temple has a stupa that holds the familys remains. He was cited by the San Francisco police for running a stop sign and reckless driving and then slept that night in his car. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Its still there. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. She heard him say severe trauma. The officer said she would have to call the hospital to find out more. The nurse who picked up, however, only had more questions. The Thai grandfather had just survived his heart surgery 9 months before, and his doctor told him to walk daily for his exercise. Why was no one intervening? Watson, the court documents state, had been cited for reckless driving, speeding and failure to stop at a stop sign in the hours before the attack. In each instance, the bystanders appeared to do nothing. On Twitter and elsewhere, Asian Americans lit up their feeds with an outpouring of grief and rage. When she made it to the hill, she noticed a neighbor working in his garage and asked if he knew where the episode happened the other day. Asian Americans in San Francisco are leading the campaign to recall the city's far-left District Attorney Chesa Boudin on June 7. . In several prime-time interviews, including on Nightline and CNN, Eric went on to suggest that Vichas death was not a random outlier but a result of one race targeting another. Otherwise youre going to have that forever. hitType: 'event', And once I hear that, I dont think we have a choice but to accept it., I dont know if we can, you know, let him go, he added. Wheres Grandpa? Troy asked her. That week, on Feb. 4, the couple spoke with San Franciscos district attorney, Chesa Boudin, on a call. She guessed he would have walked in a clockwise loop from their building she often suggested he take that route because it included an uphill stretch that would help him get some cardio. The number of submissions grew steadily throughout the year, reaching a total of 2,800 by the end of 2020. You can dial 311 or 911, she reminded them. His older daughter, Monthanus, described her father as a devoted Buddhist. The future me, the real me, says, I wish we could forgive everybody, and everybody should acknowledge this bad thing happened. And right now it feels like, maybe, his family sees me as an enemy. Watson allegedly carried out the deadly attack on senior citizen Vicha Ratanapakdee in the city's Anza Vista neighborhood on January 28, 2021. Another witness said he heard a voice yelling: Why you looking at me? In the past year, researchers and activist groups have tallied thousands of racist incidents against Asian-Americans, a surge in hate that they link to former President Donald J. Trump repeatedly referring to the coronavirus as the Chinese virus. Mr. Vichas family described his killing as racially motivated, and it spurred a campaign to raise awareness by many prominent Asian-Americans, who used the online hashtags #JusticeForVicha and #StopAsianHate. Otherwise, her mother believed, Vichas soul couldnt leave the earth and start its journey toward the afterlife. He graduated from Ithaca College with a Bachelors of Science in Television-Radio. . eventAction: 'click_image_ads' A witness told police officers that Mr. Watson said something to the effect of What are you looking at? A security camera located inside a neighbors apartment captured Mr. Watson charging across the pavement toward Mr. Vicha, who briefly turned to his assailant before the impact. There was no longer any way to ignore the violence that was happening to people who look like us., Antoine Watson, a 19-year-old resident of neighboring Daly City, was arrested two days after the attack and charged with murder and elder abuse. One was that there was a pattern of Black perpetrators and Asian victims, that the pattern was a symptom of a tension dating back decades. Others have injured or killed people without saying a word. An anti-hate rally outside the San Francisco civic center this month. There was barely a moment to grieve. },false) Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. An assailant, later identified by police as 19-year-old Antoine Watson, came barreling . "Look, I believe in second chances. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. I met Monthanus one breezy afternoon in April at Wat Nagara Dhamma, a Buddhist temple outfitted inside a small two-story house across the street from Golden Gate Park. San Francisco News, Restaurants . According to the San Francisco District Attorney's office, Watson had been observed and contacted by San Francisco Police officers earlier that morning for traffic infractions resulting in a minor collision and was issued a citation. The alleged killer is Daly City resident Antoine Watson, who was 19 at the time of the seemingly unprovoked sidewalk attack in the Anza Vista neighborhood. Hes 19 years old to be in jail. A.Cecil Williams told The New York Times in an article about the 2010 protest. First published on February 8, 2021 / 3:17 PM. Now all that remained was the memory of him, the sound of his voice in her head. When a sibling bullies another sibling, and then they go to school, and then they bully other kids, its like a chain reaction., Then there was Monthanus and Eric. }); On the morning of Jan. 28, when Monthanus and the children were still asleep, he prepared to head out. We matter, and racism is killing us. When a video emerged showing a 91-year-old shoved to the ground in Chinatown in Oakland, Calif., the actors Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu posted a $25,000 reward for anyone who had more information on the suspect, tweeting, Remember Vincent Chin, who was beaten to death by two white men in Detroit in 1982. gads_event = event; Vicha Ratanapakdee as he is knocked to the ground Thursday by an attacker later identified as 19-year-old Antoine Watson in San Francisco, at left, and Vicha in an undated photo, at right. He had guided her through lifes big decisions, her moments of uncertainty and doubt. If you miss Grandpa, she told him, go to his photo and say hi. Troy walked up to two framed portraits of his grandfather that now hung side by side on the wall. The San Francisco District Attorney has filed murder charges and elder abuse causing death charges against the 19-year-old suspect in the case, Antoine Watson, calling the crime a "brutal . Let it go. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle. The man had accepted a plea agreement for domestic-violence charges, and afterward his victim asked the judge if she could say a few words. This unfortunate assault has to do with a break in the mental health of a teenager. Monthanus ran to her fathers side and held his hand. These stories have prompted continuous news coverage and social-media obsession, and beneath it all there lurks a desire to understand what is driving the attacks and how, exactly, race is playing a role. Just six days after taking office, President Biden issued amemorandumcondemning "inflammatory and xenophobic rhetoric" that has put Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) persons, families, communitiesand businesses at risk during the pandemic. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Many are outraged after an 84-year-old Asian man was killed in San Francisco, and the District Attorney, Chesa Boudin, justified the actions of the killer. }); Tuesday morning, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Police Chief Bill Scott and District Attorney Chesa Boudin denounced the recent rise in violent crimes in the city, particularly the fatal assaults on Ratanapakdee and 76-year-old private investigator Jack Palladino. In April, while patrolling San Franciscos Chinatown, a former mayor and son of immigrants from Taishan and Hong Kong pointed to the bank across the street and told me his mother was mugged there a few years ago. A nurse came in and explained that the surgeon hadnt been able to stop the bleeding. She had learned small details about the suspect from her initial conversations with the police: male, 19 years old, African American. He must be happy now, because hes not coming back anymore! And sometimes, when they were alone and the guilt swelled inside Monthanus, she fell apart. On Jan. 15, he received the first shot of the Moderna vaccine. }); Weitere Informationen ber die Verwendung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten finden Sie in unserer Datenschutzerklrung und unserer Cookie-Richtlinie. Two days after Vicha died, Eric created a GoFundMe page to raise money for the funeral, which included a photo of Vicha and a description of his assailant derived from a mix of facts and raw emotion: A despicable 19-year-old thug that came to his neighborhood in a stolen vehicle and decided to prove how tough he was by brutalizing a senior citizen, Eric wrote. But inevitably they would get in the car with a poster of Vicha in the back. Kevin Kunishi is an American photographer living in Oakland, Calif., who is known for creating long-form projects that explore aftermath, trauma and identity. Rev. (His mother is Mexican, and he identifies as mixed race; strangers often assume he is white. Then, on a brisk and misty Northern California winter morning last month, he stepped outside. Your father is a victim. (Under California law, families of victims are eligible for work compensation only if a minor died or was hospitalized.). Several people suggested that there was more to the video that went viral, which prompted Monthanus to walk around the block to knock on neighbors doors and ask if they would share their security-camera footage. "Racism has once again proven deadly" An elderly Thai man was knocked down and killed by a teenager in San Francisco. Let's dispel the myth right now that there are no consequences for committing crimes in San Francisco," Breed said. Last year Ms. Monthanus, Mr. Vichas daughter, was twice accosted on the street by people who told her to leave the country because, the attackers said, Asians had caused the coronavirus. People are grieving. Their desire to make sense of Vichas death, to understand what motivated it, placed them in the center of a conversation so much broader than their own. Wans group, Community Youth Center, responded by opening a new office in Bayview-Hunters Point, where the attacks occurred. A teenager in San Francisco was allegedly caught on video while bum-rushing an 84-year-old man, who later died as a result of the shocking daytime attack. Four of the victims were Sikh, prompting calls to examine whether the gunman was motivated by bias. He died shortly after arrival in the hospital. Sliman Nawabi, a deputy public defender representing Watson, disputed the perception that the attack was racially motivated. Intravenous lines and electrode patches linked his body to a constellation of machines and bags of fluid. At the time of the attack, Mr. Vicha was only months away from being able to return to Thailand. Then Came a Brutal Attack. Monthanus agreed, even as her worry turned to panic. After her graduation, when Ms. Monthanus married and decided to stay in San Francisco, Mr. Vicha and his wife came to help raise their grandchildren. A photograph of Vicha Ratanapakdee that hangs in his daughters home.CreditKevin Kunishi for The New York Times. The attack came with such a speed that Ratanapakdee was thrown backward and he landed on the pavement. pg.acq.push(function() { Believe Attack Was Racially Motivated., Amanda Nguyen, a prominent activist, shared Sernoffskys report. In each case, the suspects were Black. Before his third heart operation, Vicha debated whether to go through with the procedure; he wasnt sure if he would make it. The Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act, passed with bipartisan support and signed into law by President Biden in May, primarily aims to improve crime reporting and data collection. The grandmother of a teen who senselessly pushed and killed a Thai grandfather has said her grandson should walk free. His comments tugged at a bigger, messier debate about race that had been building around the attacks. Monthanus sat on her bed that evening with Eric and their 11-year-old son, Titus, Googling her fathers age and the cross street where she found the stain. We're less than two weeks away from the start of NFL free agency, which begins at 4 p.m. Body camera footage of the encounter led officers to identify Watson and a female associate he was with at the time of the assault. When her mother saw the video, she stiffened. Vicha was one of only a few people in the village who spoke English well, Mr. Surachai said. What is incontrovertible, say leaders of the Asian-American community nationwide, is that the pandemic created a climate of fear and a feeling of insecurity from New York to California. A witness told the police they heard a voice shouting, Why you lookin at me? twice before hearing Ratanapakdee, prosecutors said. Thats not who he is. Steiner, who was Antoines elementary-school principal, said he needed mental-health support, not prison time. ), The next morning, Eric called the tip lines for several local news stations and left messages for reporters, inviting them to the Hall of Justice, where he and Monthanus were scheduled to meet with homicide detectives. When Monthanus talked about these incidents, how the outside world didnt feel safe anymore, her father would ask, Is it really that bad? Rachel Marshall / (415) 416-4468 / Rachel.Marshall@sfgov.org - SAN FRANCISCO-Today, San Francisco District Attorney Boudin announced that the District Attorney's Office has filed charges against two people for the crime that took the life of 76 year-old private investigator Jack Palladino and will file charges against one person for the murder of 84 year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. She tried to shield them from the video, but sometimes the evening news would be on and the footage would flash by before she could turn it off. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Eric, who grew up near San Jose, described himself as someone who never thought much about race during his upbringing. Someone had been falsely claiming to reporters that he was Vichas son and spoke on behalf of the family about what would happen to his remains. In an unprovoked attack, Antoine Watson, 19, charged at Vichar Ratanapakdee, 84, on Thursday during the senior's morning walk. Often, the natural human response is to want someone to blame for the pain that youre experiencing. He added, Although our system is pretty effective at processing cases and punishing, were not effective at providing the kinds of answers to families in pain and need to feel a sense of closure, or to be able to move on with their lives after suffering often unthinkable harm., Most states 48, as well as the District of Columbia have laws addressing hate crimes that are motivated by a victims race, religion or sexual orientation, among other classifications. The spokespersonnotedthat, if there were such documents, police could and would not be able to release them due to the incident being under an active homicide investigation. If Watson is convicted of murder, he could face 25 years to life in state prison. ga('ads.send', { Six of the victims two women of Chinese descent, four women of Korean descent worked at the businesses targeted by the gunman, an unequivocal sign for many of those watching that he acted out of hatred, misogyny and racism. if(document.querySelector("#google_image_div")){ Monthanus gave the nurse her fathers name, his medical-record number and his six prescriptions, which included a high dose of blood thinners. An uneasiness had hung over her ever since a mob descended on the Capitol early that month, though really, people had been acting crazy for a year.
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