3 Sought In Strong Arm Robbery In San Francisco's Chinatown
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Police in San Francisco are searching for three men suspected of attacking two people in a strong arm robbery in the city's Chinatown earlier this month.
According to police, the two victims were robbed near Stockton and Pacific streets shortly after 1 p.m. on July 15th.
Police said the suspects stole a watch from the first victim, identified as a 56-year-old city resident. The suspects also lifted him up and threw him on the ground.
The second victim, identified as a 69-year-old city resident, was knocked unconscious while trying to intervene.
Both victims were hospitalized with head injuries, but have since been treated and released.
After a spate of robberies in the Chinese American community, city leaders are now calling for SFPD to aggregate demographic data on crime victims over the past 10 years.
San Francisco Supervisor Gordon Mar wants the police data because he says his Chinese American constituents believe they are being disproportionately targeted.
"Of 66 official hate crime incidents, 38 were racial or ethnic-based, 16 were for sexual orientation, and six were for religious preference," said Mar.
Mar said the data will help communities come up with better crime fighting strategies.
"We have a responsibility as a city to respond to these concerns from our constituents, our communities and do a better job of responding and preventing them from happening into the future."
Cpt. Robert Yick of SFPD said the department has increased foot patrols in Chinatown and is also building relationships with vendors who, in the past, have been reluctant to report crimes to police.
Yick also mentioned a new camera program (still in beta phase) that will soon launch online.
Police released surveillance photo and videos of the three suspects. Anyone with information is asked to contact the department's 24-hour tip line by calling 415-575-4444 or texting TIP411 and beginning the message with "SFPD."