Thursday, November 17, 2016
By Megan Burke, Maureen Cavanaugh
San Diego law enforcement officers will meet on Thursday with the area's Somali community to discuss, "recent crimes in the community including hate crimes, and a fear of post election uncertainties," according to a flyer for the event distributed by the San Diego Police Department.
Since the election, hundreds of suspected hate crimes have been reported across the country including in San Diego.
On Nov. 9, San Diego State University President Elliot Hirshman released a statement about a possible hate crime committed on campus against Muslim student wearing a hijab. Her belongings and car were stolen.
"It's 2:30 p.m. and it's at San Diego State and they came up to her and made several derogatory statements about her being East African and she's in her early 20s, a young girl," said Abdi Mohamoud, executive director of the nonprofit organization Horn of Africa who has spoken with the woman's family. "There was other people there, they witnessed and no one called the police, no one has said 'Hey, what are you doing?' That's just the atmosphere we're dealing with."
Mohamoud added, "It's very terrifying, especially for our young ladies and youth because they don't know when things will get serious."
Three men have been charged with hate crimes in connection with a separate incident on Oct. 30. The group is accused of attacking a Somali man at a restaurant near University and College Avenues. The victim was hospitalized.
Mohamoud said the community is scared.
Oscar Garcia, a deputy district attorney in San Diego who prosecutes hate crimes, said law enforcement needs to be more proactive when it comes to educating the public about hate crimes
"It's important to specify that it's not just hate crimes that we're concerned about. It's those incidents that may fall under the protection of the First Amendment and may not necessarily cross the line to make it a crime," Garcia said. "Those who are committing the hate incidents, it doesn't take them much longer to cross the line of protected speech and protected activities.
Hate incidents, Garcia said, include slurs and intimidation. He said hate incidents on an individual's record has helped him obtain convictions for hate crimes because it shows that a suspect is known to have "engaged in bigoted behavior."
Garcia discusses hate crimes in San Diego Wednesday on Midday Edition.