New video was released Thursday as police continue their search for a man suspected of committing a hate crime when he assaulted an Asian American woman last month in Culver City.
As the victim was walking to work along Washington Boulevard around 1 a.m. on June 14, a man approached her near Redwood Avenue to ask if she had a cigarette, according to Culver City police.
The woman replied that she didn’t and, feeling fearful of the man, began to walk away. That’s when he came up from behind, called her an “Asian motherf—,” and punched the right side of her head, investigators said.
The surveillance video released Thursday shows the man identified as the perpetrator at a nearby convenience store following the assault, apparently speaking to a cashier.
Police had previously released video showing the attack, with the force of the impact knocking the woman to the ground, where she lay motionless. The perpetrator stood over her looking down for several seconds before walking away.
However, that video has been taken down from the Culver City Police Department’s YouTube account. Officers did not immediately respond to request for comment on why it was taken down, but in a news release Thursday they said the footage had failed to generate any new leads.
The victim suffered a severe laceration to her right ear and was treated at a hospital. An image previously released by police showed her with a large amount of blood running down her shirt after the attack.
Detectives describe the assailant as a heavy-set white man around 35 years old with light-colored hair and about 5 feet, 9 inches tall. The video shows he also has a beard and was wearing a green T-shirt with black shorts at the time of the attack.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts can contact Culver City police at 310-253-6300 or tips@culvercity.org.
