Netflix chef reports racially motivated attack in downtown San Francisco; suspect is repeat offender

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The traces of the vicious attack on Wendy Drew are clearly visible.

Drew said she was walking through downtown San Francisco on Sunday night when she passed the person who later attacked her.

“This guy with the dog walked by and called me the N-word,” Drew said.

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Drew says she was left shocked and asked the man why he called her that racist slur.

Then, she says, he attacked her.

MORE: Repeated racism: Black man from San Francisco who found a doll with a noose around its neck is again the victim of an attack

Surveillance video obtained by our media partner, the San Francisco Standard, shows part of the altercation after Drew fought back and pushed the man into a nearby store.

The man eventually fled the store, but not before hitting Drew several times, leaving her covered in blood.

“Customers got up and ran after him and I said, ‘Get him, get him, he can’t get away.’ And just as they got him, the police came,” Drew said.

Drew, who is from South Africa, says the events have traumatized her not only physically but also psychologically.

She tells me that she no longer feels comfortable in San Francisco after living here for 20 years.

MORE: San Francisco Mayor London Breed says racist and sexist graffiti outside City Hall was directed against her

“But now it’s like the roles have reversed. I don’t feel safe in a city that I’ve grown to love because I felt safe there for a long time,” Drew said.

This is not the first time the homeless suspect has been arrested for attacking a stranger.

Last year, ABC7 News reported on an incident in which he randomly attacked the owner of a sandwich shop on Haight Street.

He was arrested and eventually released.

“That was the part that really bothered me, when I was told he had a history of violence. And when I got on the phone with the sergeant and learned he had a history of violence, I wondered: Why is he on the streets?” Drew said.

VIDEO: Man who punched San Francisco restaurant owner in the face apologizes after serving sentence

Sunday’s incident is part of a growing trend of hate-motivated violence against African Americans in San Francisco, according to Pastor Amos Brown.

“They’re upset. Some are angry. And some are depressed,” Brown said.

On Thursday, Brown held a special press conference at his Third Baptist Church to discuss the issue with city leaders.

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins says her office has seen an explosion in hate crime cases in recent years.

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“I see it as my full responsibility to ensure that we have a justice system that does what it is supposed to do and that it does it fairly,” Jenkins said.

Drew, for his part, hopes that her attacker will now finally disappear from the streets.

And she encourages elected officials to do their part to make the city safe for everyone.

“Part of me wonders what would have happened if I hadn’t had the media attention. You know, since I have the media attention, the necessary steps are being taken?”