Series of anti-Asian hate attacks reported in Portland, Oregon
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Zion M. Cochran on the evening of Sept. 4 allegedly yelled, “I hate Asians!” at a group of Asian people at Mama Bird restaurant and allegedly hurled patio chairs, dishes and glasses at the windows of the restaurant, reported Oregon Live (Source: Oregonlive.com | Photo by Sean Milligan)
Zion M. Cochran on the evening of Sept. 4 allegedly yelled, “I hate Asians!” at a group of Asian people at Mama Bird restaurant and allegedly hurled patio chairs, dishes and glasses at the windows of the restaurant, reported Oregon Live.
Moments later, Cochran, 29, then turned to two young Asian women passersby and allegedly shouted, “Don’t you walk away from me!” before violently shoving one of them.
At that point, Sean Milligan, a bystander, along with a Mama Bird employee tackled Cochran to the ground near Northwest 21st Avenue and Raleigh Street until police arrived.
Cochran was sedated by paramedics and brought to a local hospital for evaluation.
“There were so many bystanders, some with their phones out,” Milligan told Oregon Live. “Someone needed to take action before somebody seriously got hurt. It was kind of a split-second decision.”
Police reportedly cited Cochran on four counts of felony and misdemeanor criminal mischief for causing property damage, including while jumping on a moving car and smashing the windshield of a parked car that same evening.
Hate crime was not among the charges. A police spokesman said Cochran’s targets could not be located.
The incident is among the series of recent attacks against people of Asian descent and other targeted communities in Portland. Hate crimes and incidents reported to the state's Bias Response Hotline have nearly tripled in the past three years.
Police earlier this week distributed photos and asked for the public’s help in identifying a man who spat at and assaulted multiple people of Asian descent on Aug. 21 in downtown Portland.
In early August, an unknown individual vandalized the granite base of a lion statue at the gate of Old Town Chinatown and shattered a window at the nearby Lan Su Chinese Garden in an act the garden’s organizers believe was motivated by bias.
