A 53-year-old Asian woman who was attacked on a Metro train in Long Beach is suing the Los Angeles transit agency, claiming that the train employees failed to stop the alleged hate crime against her.
On May 17, the woman was punched in the face repeatedly by an unidentified woman, following an argument with another man on the train, the Long Beach Post reported.
According to the lawsuit, filed this month in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the woman warned her male friend not to reach out to two younger women on the train even if they appeared off-balance. Another man then began yelling “racist slurs and sexist insults” at the woman, telling her she shouldn’t tell a man what to do, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The younger women also joined in calling racist insults, while one “lunged at [the woman] and repeatedly punched [her] in the face,” the suit said.
The lawsuit states that the train employees were negligent and forced her to “fend for herself,” the Los Angeles Times reported. It also noted that it was a hate crime due to the Asian slurs used during the attack.
“Metro failed in its legal duty to protect the public and passengers … from harassment, attacks, and racial hate crimes on public transportation, even when it knows that harassment, attacks, and racial hate crimes are a problem on its trains,” the woman’s attorney, Steven Haney, wrote in the complaint.
Despite attempts by bystanders to request the train be stopped, the train operator failed to stop the train and emergency response to law enforcement was delayed, the Long Beach Post reported.
The Long Beach Police Department stated in a statement this week that “at this time, we have no information to indicate this was a hate or bias motivated incident.” They also claim to have attempted to interview the woman, but she has not participated.
Currently, the Long Beach Police Department states that there are no updates to the case as of this week and no arrests have been made. The woman is currently seeking physical and emotional damages for the assault.
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