A man was arrested for allegedly yelling a racial epithet at a woman and chasing her at Palo Alto City Hall Plaza, police said today (Jan. 27).
The woman was walking through the plaza at 250 Hamilton Ave. and was nearing the entrance to City Hall just before 7 a.m. on Friday when a man rushed toward her, blocked her path and yelled a racial epithet about Asian people, according to a statement by Capt. James Reifschneider.
The woman, fearing for her safety, ran away, with the man, later identified as Gavin Lamar Mour, 44, of Palo Alto, following her and yelling, Reifschneider said.
Once the woman reached the street, Mour stopped following her, according to police.
The woman flagged down an off-duty police officer on the 600 block of Ramona Street and told him what had just happened to her, Reifschneider said.
Police looked for Mour, but could not find him. A few minutes later, police dispatch got a call of a man harassing customers and walking in and out of traffic in front of Town and Country Shopping Center. Police went over to Town and Country, found Mour, and tied him to the city hall incident.
Mour was taken to jail for two misdemeanors, including a hate crime.
Did the man threaten anyone? Otherwise I am not pleased to watch us go down the path of the euro speech police.
Yes, he was speaking truth to power. Where’s Julie?