As Irvine police investigate assault of 69-year-old Asian man, a new hate crime reporting portal is released

The Irvine Police Department released footage this week of a young man allegedly assaulting a 69-year-old Asian man following a skirmish between their dogs.

The department released the footage of the alleged crime, which occurred last Friday at Sierra Vista Middle School, with the hopes the public will be able to identify the young man.

One anonymous tip of several that had been submitted this week led police on Thursday to the Tustin apartment of Keven Quiroz, who was arrested on suspicion of committing the assault.

Evidence linking Quiroz, 23, to the incident was recovered at his apartment, and an unloaded rifle was found in his vehicle, a press release said. Detectives are investigating whether he owned the rifle legally.

“Based on the totality of the investigation, IPD detectives believe the assault followed a dispute over the suspect’s dog being off leash,” the press release said. “It does not appear the ethnicity of the victim was a factor in the assault.”

The alleged assault comes amid an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes and racism throughout the country. Last week, eight people were gunned down in Atlanta, including six Asian women. The suspect cited sex addiction as his motive.

Some have linked the racializing of the coronavirus with the increase in hate incidents. Former President Donald Trump referred to it as the “China virus” because of the country of its origin.

Earlier this month, neighbors of an Asian family in Ladera Ranch started taking night-watch shifts after teenagers repeatedly harassed the family at night, ringing their doorbell, yelling racial insults and pounding on the door.

The Seal Beach police this week are investigating a racist letter sent to a Korean American woman.

Orange County has the third-largest Asian American population in the country, and Irvine has the county’s largest Asian American population.

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Just days following the mass shooting in Atlanta, Irvine announced it’s launching a new multilingual hate crime reporting portal through the police department.

The effort is part of the city’s aim to encourage diversity and discourage racism. In late January, the council voted to reaffirm its commitment to diversity and equity with a “We Are Irvine” campaign.

Irvine police spokeswoman Karie Davies said Wednesday the portal provides an option, or “safe space,” for people who don’t feel comfortable speaking with an officer or if there’s a language barrier issue.

The portal is currently in English but will eventually be available in Farsi, Korean, Mandarin and Spanish. The department hopes to add other languages in the near future.

Davies said the department is working on adding the other languages to the portal, but a glitch has set that back.

Davies said there were seven hate crimes reported in Irvine in both 2020 and 2019, and two hate crimes reported in 2018. There was one Asian-targeted hate crime reported in 2020, one in 2019 and none reported in 2018.

Davies said there were 18 hate incidents reported in 2020 and 11 in 2019. There were three Asian-targeted hate incidents reported in 2020 and none in 2019.

Hate crimes and incidents could be occurring at higher rates than those numbers reflect, as victims of hate crimes can be reluctant to report them to the police.

A 2018 national investigation produced by the Carnegie-Knight News21 initiative at Arizona State University found that Latinos may not report hate crimes for fear of deportation. It also found that members of the LGBTQ community were hesitant to report hate crimes due to a distrust of police.

Irvine’s hate crime reporting portal is meant to provide a comfortable option for people who may be hesitant to contact the police.

“The reason for the portal is, you see a lot of the comments online that suggest that there’s a rise in hate crime and Irvine’s not mentioned specifically, but it certainly gives the impression that there may be some underreported information,” Davies said. “So that was part of the reason for creating a reporting system online, so that they can go directly to the online reporting system and put the information in there, in the event that they don’t feel comfortable talking to an officer or are afraid for whatever the reason.”

Those who use the portal have the option to remain anonymous, though Davies said this makes it difficult for police to find the perpetrator of the crime.

When asked whether there’s an increasing amount of hate crimes and incidents in Irvine, Davies said there is a “perception” that there’s an increase.

“And while that may be true in the county, we aren’t seeing the data to support that in Irvine,” Davies said.

Mayor Farrah Khan, who has taken a vocal stance against hate crimes and racism in the community, wrote on Twitter last week in support of the portal. She also circulated the news of the assault on her Twitter account this week.

“To our API community members, please know that you are not alone,” Khan said on Twitter. “I understand that in these challenging times you may not feel safe or protected, please know that you have friends and supporters here that are ready to help. Do not be afraid to speak up or report incidents.”

At a City Council meeting this week, a few residents spoke out in favor of the portal.

“I’m proud that the city of Irvine is taking a proactive stance,” said Jen Chiou. “It is critical that our community has an easy, clear way to report and see the data of hate crimes and incidents, and it is so critical that the voices and stories from the AAPI community are heard. For far too long we have been made invisible, treated as forever foreigners and overlooked in conversations about race. These actions by the City Council get us one step closer and helping the Asian American community feel safe, seen and valued.”

“I’m very heartened to see that, Irvine has gone beyond mere tolerance to inclusion, the public commitment to stand up for our minority residents and make sure that they are fully included and have access to the city website is super important,” said Melisa Masri. “... It has been disheartening to see the increase in hate crimes and demagoguery nationwide in recent years. Hopefully, with these changes by the City Council it will be clear to residents that hate crimes will not be tolerated here.”

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