El Cerrito police are asking for the public’s help to identify a protestor who was seen on video pushing a woman to the ground, stealing her Israeli flag and then burning the flag during a demonstration on Saturday.
The incident, which police are calling a hate crime, occurred at the intersection of San Pablo Avenue and Carlson Boulevard, where about 100 pro-Palestinian protestors and a small contingent of counter-protestors assembled Saturday, police said.
While many callers reported incidents of pushing, shoving and language they deemed threatening to police, one incident in particular “was clearly of a criminal nature,” according to the El Cerrito Police Department.
In the incident captured on video, a male protestor seen wearing a distinctive jacket assaulted a woman and destroyed her property in what police are deeming a hate crime.
“The El Cerrito Police Department supports the constitutional rights of all people to freedom of speech and assembly,” police said. “However, when these acts become criminal, they will be thoroughly investigated and presented to the District Attorneys Office for review and prosecution when appropriate.”
The El Cerrito Police Department is requesting any witnesses, those with video evidence, or those able to identify the individual in the photos, to contact 510-215-4417 or [email protected].
