Dylan Keterson, 34, is facing seven charges in the alleged assault of a California father and his 5-year-old daughter.
Keterson is being charged with two counts of first-degree bias crime, second-degree bias crime, harassment, fourth-degree assault, second-degree attempted assault and third-degree attempted assault, according to a statement from District Attorney Mike Schmidt Tuesday.
Police responded to reports of an assault on the Eastbank Esplanade near the Hawthorne Bridge on Saturday around 3:45 p.m. Keterson approached the family and started making comments about their Japanese descent, police said in a statement.
He punched the 36-year-old father in the head and the daughter on her bike helmet, police said. The father went to a nearby hospital, but his daughter was not injured, according to Schmidt.
Police arrested Keterson near the scene after witnesses pointed him out, Schmidt said.
Officials released Keterson from jail under supervision before his arraignment, but the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office is requesting that he be returned to custody and held without bail.
The district attorney’s office has published a bias crimes dashboard to raise awareness about these crimes in the area. Reports of Anti-Asian bias increased last year at a higher rate than other calls to the state bias hotline, according to a report released last week.
– Austin De Dios; adedios@oregonian.com; @austindedios; (503) 319-9744
