San Francisco prosecutors today charged a white man’s alleged profanity-laced attacks on a black man earlier this week in the Bayview District as a hate crime.
Christopher Brymer, 50, is accused of yelling racial slurs at the man and then assaulting him on a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency platform at Third and Mission Rock streets on Monday.
According to prosecutors, just before the incident, Brymer had allegedly threatened another black man inside a nearby soup kitchen.
He then walked to the platform where he encountered the second man, allegedly called him “the n-word” and struck him in the head with an unknown object, according to prosecutors.
The victim defended himself with a pocketknife and Brymer fled, prosecutors said.
The pair had a similar encounter involving swearing and racial slurs on the platform Tuesday, and Brymer was arrested, according to prosecutors.
Brymer was arraigned today on eight felony counts for the two alleged victims, including assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, battery, exhibiting a deadly weapon and threatening a witness.
Seven of the counts carry attached allegations of hate crimes, which can add a more severe sentence if found true.
In a prepared statement, District Attorney Kamala Harris called Brymer’s alleged conduct “outrageous in any civil society, but especially here in San Francisco where we have a long tradition of embracing diversity.”
Brymer’s newly appointed attorney, public defender Megan Burns, cautioned that the full story has yet to be told.
Burns noted that her client has pleaded not guilty to the charges, adding, “When he appeared in court today, he displayed physical signs of having been assaulted.”
Burns said both alleged victims have criminal histories in San Francisco.
Brymer remains in custody on $200,000 bail.
