Update 3/22/2011: In this clip from the March 2011 press conference following the arraignment of three individuals on hate-motivated assault charges in the beating of two Mexican nationals, two key law enforcement leaders express and address community concerns.
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Victor Hwang speak to hate crime victims and the larger community.
"We have seen an uptick of crimes of hate in the city and we want to make sure that we send a very clear message that people do not have to be victimized and that people need to feel comfortable regardless of their immigration status and they will get help and there will be no consequences because of their migratory status," Gascon says. "This is a city that stands for diversity, that has a tradition of quality and freedom for all and we certainly need to stand together to ensure that these acts of violence that are based on racist behavior or gender or any other type of hate are turned around and will not happen in this city."
3/17/11: This week an alarming story broke in the San Francisco news media about a hate crime case involving the violent attack of two Mexican nationals by suspected skinheads living in the Bay Area. Last November, as the two victims were beaten by three to five white males in the city's Tenderloin, witnesses overheard assailants yelling, "White power." Robert Allen, 38, Anthony Weston, 32, and Justic Meskan, 29, were arraigned in San Francisco's Superior Court March 17, 2011, on charges of assault based on the victims' race and/or national origin. If convicted of all charges, the maximum penalty is 10 years in state prison for each defendant.
The NIOT team has been following this case for a few months, as we put together a video profile of the lead prosecutor on the case, San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Victor Hwang, and explore the gap between hate crime incidents, their reporting to law enforcement, and prosecution of such incidents.
Hwang, who formerly worked for the Bay Area civil rights organizations API Legal Outreach and Asian Law Caucus, specializes in hate crime prosecution and has become an important ally in law enforcement to Bay Area community members working to fight hate. Hwang came to his position in the city and in this area of law after his experience working on behalf of vulnerable communities and seeing first hand the impact bigotry and violence had on them.
In an interview we captured earlier this year, Hwang tells us, "I went to law school to serve the community and do civil rights work ... and working for more than a decade from the outside, urging the D.A.'s office to file charges [in hate-motivated attacks,] seeing the trauma that's inflicted on victims when charges are not brought, after a while I thought it's better to join [law enforcement] and take over the prosecution in these cases. I'm more willing to charge the case if it can vindicate the victim, even if it's a tough case."
Hwang characterized the investigation into the attack by suspected skinheads as receiving the same "work up" a murder investigation would. "As a resident of San Francisco, as a prosecutor here, this case absolutely worries me, and I'm glad I'm in the position I am because I'm dedicated to addressing this issue," he says.
Hwang credits the thorough police work of the San Francisco Police Department and the quick response by Sgt. Katherine Schwarz-Choy to treat the attack of the two Mexican nationals as a hate-motivated incident. "Hate crime cases require a lot of extensive investigation beyond just figuring out the crime, because we have to prove the motive. So I rely greatly upon Sgt. Choy and inspectors who work in this area," he says.
Hwang has also received assistance from the Mexican Consulate, which has assisted the victims of the attack and helped gather testimonies for the prosecution.
The three men who stand accused in this case are scheduled to go to trial April 29, 2011. The NIOT team will continue to follow the case.