• About
  • Contact Us
The Filipino American Post
Advertisement
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • PH News
    • World News
    Senate presidency shaping up as a 3-way race among Escudero, Sotto & Marcos

    Senate presidency shaping up as a 3-way race among Escudero, Sotto & Marcos

    Go or no go? Impeachment vs. VP Sara hangs in the balance

    Go or no go? Impeachment vs. VP Sara hangs in the balance

    Marcos Cabinet shakeup has few surprises

    Marcos Cabinet shakeup has few surprises

    Ex-solon sent back to PH by East Timor to face raps

    Ex-solon sent back to PH by East Timor to face raps

    Lawyers debate after Court of Appeals invalidates De Lima’s acquittal

    Palace asks Roque to return after arrest warrant is issued

  • Community
  • EVENTS
  • Opinion
    • All
    • Column
    • Legal
    NaFFAA Honors Pope Francis a.k.a. Lolo Kiko

    NaFFAA Honors Pope Francis a.k.a. Lolo Kiko

    In this column, we will aim to raise awareness about osteoporosis, highlighting the importance of early screening and timely diagnosis, with a special focus on older women in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.

    In this column, we will aim to raise awareness about osteoporosis, highlighting the importance of early screening and timely diagnosis, with a special focus on older women in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.

    Should undocumented migrants file income taxes

    Why Student visas are being cancelled by DHS

    Berberine for diabetes

    May green card holders travel outside the United States?

    Can Caregivers be Petitioned for Green Card?

    The two important Medicare enrollment period will end on Mach 31, 2025. Additionally, be sure not to miss the application open period for home energy assistance.

    The two important Medicare enrollment period will end on Mach 31, 2025. Additionally, be sure not to miss the application open period for home energy assistance.

    Asylum as a defense to mass deportation

  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Arts & Culture
    • Business
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel
    It’s a new day for health care and technology

    It’s a new day for health care and technology

    The Colorful Pahiyas Festival

    The Colorful Pahiyas Festival

    The Magical Guyabano

    The Magical Guyabano

    What Your Moles Say About You

    What Your Moles Say About You

    Flores De Mayo: HONORING MAMA MARY

    Flores De Mayo: HONORING MAMA MARY

  • Online Newspaper
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • PH News
    • World News
    Senate presidency shaping up as a 3-way race among Escudero, Sotto & Marcos

    Senate presidency shaping up as a 3-way race among Escudero, Sotto & Marcos

    Go or no go? Impeachment vs. VP Sara hangs in the balance

    Go or no go? Impeachment vs. VP Sara hangs in the balance

    Marcos Cabinet shakeup has few surprises

    Marcos Cabinet shakeup has few surprises

    Ex-solon sent back to PH by East Timor to face raps

    Ex-solon sent back to PH by East Timor to face raps

    Lawyers debate after Court of Appeals invalidates De Lima’s acquittal

    Palace asks Roque to return after arrest warrant is issued

  • Community
  • EVENTS
  • Opinion
    • All
    • Column
    • Legal
    NaFFAA Honors Pope Francis a.k.a. Lolo Kiko

    NaFFAA Honors Pope Francis a.k.a. Lolo Kiko

    In this column, we will aim to raise awareness about osteoporosis, highlighting the importance of early screening and timely diagnosis, with a special focus on older women in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.

    In this column, we will aim to raise awareness about osteoporosis, highlighting the importance of early screening and timely diagnosis, with a special focus on older women in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.

    Should undocumented migrants file income taxes

    Why Student visas are being cancelled by DHS

    Berberine for diabetes

    May green card holders travel outside the United States?

    Can Caregivers be Petitioned for Green Card?

    The two important Medicare enrollment period will end on Mach 31, 2025. Additionally, be sure not to miss the application open period for home energy assistance.

    The two important Medicare enrollment period will end on Mach 31, 2025. Additionally, be sure not to miss the application open period for home energy assistance.

    Asylum as a defense to mass deportation

  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Arts & Culture
    • Business
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel
    It’s a new day for health care and technology

    It’s a new day for health care and technology

    The Colorful Pahiyas Festival

    The Colorful Pahiyas Festival

    The Magical Guyabano

    The Magical Guyabano

    What Your Moles Say About You

    What Your Moles Say About You

    Flores De Mayo: HONORING MAMA MARY

    Flores De Mayo: HONORING MAMA MARY

  • Online Newspaper
No Result
View All Result
The Filipino American Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Community

‘Go back to your country,’ shouted suspect as she pepper-sprayed victim

The suspect shouted "crazy Asian bitch" and body-shamed the victim but has not been charged with a hate crime.

by Sunita Sohrabji
August 2, 2024
in Community
0
‘Go back to your country,’ shouted suspect as she pepper-sprayed victim

Photo: Sunita Sohrabji

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

SAN FRANCISCO — A young Thai-American bartender working at a Tenderloin bar here, was pepper sprayed and verbally abused in a possible hate crime.

The victim, who goes by the nickname Kunni, asked not to be identified by her full name as she still works at the bar and lives in the neighborhood with her young daughter. She told Ethnic Media Services that she wants hate crime charges added to the case.

The suspect, identified in a police report as Iyana Spruell, also lives in the neighborhood, but no restraining order has yet been set.

Spruell and her friend came into the bar just before closing time — 1:30 am — and headed to the pool table. The two attempted to cut through a game already in progress. “I told her it was after closing time and no new game could start.”

‘Crazy Asian bitch’

Photo of burned right leg provided by victim
A person with their hands over their face

Description automatically generated
Photo of burned arms provided by victim

“She called me a ‘crazy Asian bitch,’ and then started body shaming me, saying I had small breasts. She shook her booty at me, and asked me to go outside and fight her,” said Kunni.

Security camera footage of the attack provided to EMS shows Spruell shouting at Kunni: “Go back to your country, bitch.” The video does not show Spruell deploying pepper spray but witnesses told police that the suspect had used pepper spray on Kunni and other patrons. Photos provided to EMS show Kunni’s burned arm and right leg, and the impact of spray in the bar area.

Two patrons eventually pushed Spruell and her friend out of the bar and locked the door. Kunni called 911, which arrived at the scene within minutes.

Threats

As she was arrested, Spruell allegedly told Kunni: “I will come get you.” The victim is of slight build, weighing just 90 lbs., while police recorded the attacker’s weight as 184 lbs.

“I was shocked and scared. I did not know what to say to police,” said Kunni. Three months later, she still suffers from anxiety and burning sensations in her arm and leg where she was hit with pepper spray. She has started to see a psychiatrist to manage her anxiety and panic attacks.

“I am so scared when I walk my daughter to school. I have lived here since 2005. My daughter understands what has happened and she is scared too,” said Kunni.

SFPD statement

San Francisco Police Department spokeswoman Allison Maxie sent a statement to Ethnic Media Services regarding the incident. On April 18 at approximately 1:49 a.m., police from the Tenderloin Station responded to a nearby business regarding a fight. “Officers arrived on scene and met with victims and witnesses who told officers that a woman pepper sprayed multiple individuals inside the business following a verbal dispute,” read the statement.

One person was treated on scene by paramedics for non-life-threatening injuries. “Through the course of their investigation, officers developed probable cause to place a 28-year-old woman under arrest. The woman was booked at San Francisco County Jail on the charge of using tear gas or a tear gas weapon,” read the SFPD statement.

Unlawful use of tear gas can be charged as a misdemeanor, with up to a year in county jail, or a felony, which carries a maximum 3-year sentence. SFPD noted that the District Attorney’s office would be responsible for adding possible additional charges.

Arrest

A police report of the attack noted that Spruell’s friend was extremely intoxicated and could not speak. Spruell told police that someone in the bar had pepper-sprayed her friend.

The suspect was arrested and spent two days in jail before being released.

Randy Quezada, a spokesman for the San Francisco District Attorney’s office, had not returned a phone call or email by press time. A preliminary report hearing on the case is scheduled for August 7.

Justice for Vicha

After the attack, Kunni went to seek the help of Monthanus Ratanapakdee, whose father Vicha was fatally pushed to the ground in 2021 while taking his daily walk in San Francisco. Ratanapakdee has established an organization, Justice4Vicha Foundation, which aims to end hate crimes through education, and community engagement.

The suspect who attacked Vicha Ratanapakdee, Antoine Watson, has been in county jail since January 30, 2021. He is being held without bail, on one charge of murder and one charge of inflicting injury on an elderly person likely to result in great bodily injury, according to his record on the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department inmate locator.

The District Attorney’s office has not added a hate crime charge, telling Ratanapakdee hate was not determined as a motivating factor.

‘Stand up, speak out’

“We have evidence, we have a video. I want to see my father’s case identified as a hate crime,” said Ratanapakdee. On October 1, 2022, a street in the Anza neighborhood of San Francisco was named for “Grandpa Vicha.”

“Asian Americans do not know how to report a hate crime. We don’t want to stand up and speak out,” said Monthanus. She is currently also helping another Thai man working in an Oakland restaurant, who was randomly punched by a customer.

Clear motivation

“In Kunni’s case, the motivation is clear,” said Ratanapakdee, noting that the video clearly shows Spruell shouting anti-Asian slurs and threatening Kunni.

“Why did this woman hate me so much? I do not understand. She and I were not enemies,” said Kunni.

_______________________________

EMS’ Stop The Hate initiative is made possible with funding from the California State Library (CSL) in partnership with the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (CAPIAA). The views expressed on this website and other materials produced by EMS do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the CSL, CAPIAA or the California government.

ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Using eastern therapies, Medi-Cal expands mental health services to AAPI communities

Next Post

GLOBAL FILIPINO STORIES ON SCIENCE, ART AND TECHNOLOGY to BE HIGHLIGHTED at #PHTimeIsNow in UC Berkeley

Related Posts

What happens if you help an undocumented immigrant?
Community

Despite higher Covid risk, pregnant women are now ineligible for vaccine

June 6, 2025
What happens if you help an undocumented immigrant?
Community

Over 200 ralliers demand Newsom fund domestic violence victims

June 6, 2025
What happens if you help an undocumented immigrant?
Community

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: 2025 Migration Advocacy and Media (MAM) Awards

June 6, 2025
Next Post
GLOBAL FILIPINO STORIES ON SCIENCE, ART AND TECHNOLOGY to BE HIGHLIGHTED at #PHTimeIsNow in UC Berkeley

GLOBAL FILIPINO STORIES ON SCIENCE, ART AND TECHNOLOGY to BE HIGHLIGHTED at #PHTimeIsNow in UC Berkeley

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Recent News

Go or no go? Impeachment vs. VP Sara hangs in the balance
News

Go or no go? Impeachment vs. VP Sara hangs in the balance

by Ver Bermudez
June 6, 2025
0

The anticipated impeachment trial of Vice-president Sara Duterte-Carpio suddenly hangs in the balance as the Senate further postponed the proceedings...

Marcos Cabinet shakeup has few surprises

Marcos Cabinet shakeup has few surprises

June 6, 2025
Ex-solon sent back to PH by East Timor to face raps

Ex-solon sent back to PH by East Timor to face raps

June 6, 2025
What happens if you help an undocumented immigrant?

Despite higher Covid risk, pregnant women are now ineligible for vaccine

June 6, 2025
What happens if you help an undocumented immigrant?

Over 200 ralliers demand Newsom fund domestic violence victims

June 6, 2025
The Filipino American Post

© 2025
THE FILIPINO AMERICAN POST

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Contact Us

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • NEWS
    • PH News
    • World News
  • COMMUNITY
  • EVENTS
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • SPORTS
  • OPINION
  • LIFESTYLE
    • Business
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel
    • Arts & Culture
  • ONLINE NEWSPAPER

© 2025
THE FILIPINO AMERICAN POST