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’
“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.
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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.
