Victims and advocates recount hate incidents, urge consistent police response; Assembly Bill 449 cited

Several residents and community advocates described recent hate incidents during a public comment session and urged law enforcement to adopt consistent procedures when bias appears to be a factor.

Speakers said some responding officers declined to take reports or minimized incidents. “I didn't call the police, but they came. I didn't want to admit anything. ... when I told them that there was a racial slur said, and they're like, well, you know, if they do have freedom of speech, you could just go inside and shut the door,” said a resident recounting a home assault and officers who left without taking a report.

The session included multiple personal accounts of physical attacks and harassment tied to victims’ race, ethnicity or national origin. “A group of men stormed into the business. It was a direct target of our identity. Seeing their hatred in their eyes is the most scariest thing,” another resident said, describing a workplace incident in which attackers allegedly threw chairs and picked up weapons.

Advocates and other speakers said hate incidents and hate crimes are underreported and that consistent procedures would improve investigations and victims’ willingness to come forward. “Even 1 hate crime is 1 hate crime too many,” a community advocate said. Another speaker urged officers to treat reports seriously and to use available tools: “Building a robust case and collecting the right types of evidence and using that supplemental hate crime checklist … is really gonna make a strong case so that we can hold these people accountable.”

Speakers pointed to Assembly Bill 449, which they said would require departments to adopt a specific hate-crimes policy and instruct officers to complete a hate-crime supplemental report whenever bias is suspected. One commenter described how better documentation helped transform a dismissed incident into a case: after posting a recording online, five other victims came forward, investigators reopened the matter and a detective escalated the case to the city attorney's office.

Multiple speakers raised language and trust barriers in immigrant communities that they said deter reporting. “In the immigrant community, there's a high level of normalization of hate. There is incredible diversity of language, and, as such, it is a barrier to be able to report,” said a community representative. Speakers also highlighted victim resources, noting that the California vs. Hate resource line and the state Civil Rights Department can provide multilingual assistance and counseling referrals; one speaker said the resource provided counseling after an incident.

Speakers urged law enforcement agencies to reclassify past incidents where bias may have played a role and to reach back to victims with the new resources available. “It's not too late to do the right thing, especially when it comes to bias motivated or hate crimes. If you have a case that you remember, going back and reclassifying it and reaching out to the victim … is a phone call and email away,” an advocate said.

No formal motions, votes or directives were recorded during the excerpted public comments. The session focused on personal testimony, recommendations for consistent use of hate-crime supplemental reports, and promotion of state victim resources.

Speakers (as identified in the transcript): Resident; Community Advocate; Community Representative; Resident (victim of workplace attack); Resident (victim who provided video)