Anti-Asian hate is underreported in King County. New community gatherings aim to change that

Federal and local prosecutors and advocates for the Asian American community are encouraging crime victims to come forward and file reports, with the goal of reducing hate crimes.

Over the summer, Christopher Koa, a law professor and the organizer of a recent forum at Seattle University, had his home broken into when he and his family were away.

Around the same time, his neighbors throughout South Seattle – all of whom are Asian American – were robbed at gunpoint of tens of thousands of dollars and tasered. From his point of view, his community is being deliberately targeted.

Koa is an outlier in these cases, as he didn’t experience any face-to-face violence like the others. But he feels driven to find a way to connect Asian American community groups with federal and local prosecutors through events like the community gathering he hosted on Wednesday night. He thinks communities need better information about staying safe.

“The guidance and statements coming from the police weren’t helpful or necessarily accurate,” Koa said, adding that’s why he’s taking matters into his own hands.

Investigators are still determining if what Koa’s neighbors experienced qualify as hate crimes as they build cases against people they’ve arrested, and search for more suspects.

In addition to race, the age of older home robbery victims may or may not factor into charging decisions.