Man yells racial slur at woman outside city hall, then chases her, California cops say
A man accused of yelling a racial slur at a woman outside a city hall before chasing her has been arrested, California police say.
A woman flagged down an off-duty officer at about 7 a.m. Friday, Jan. 24, saying “she was being chased by a man,” the Palo Alto Police Department said in a Jan. 27 news release.
On-duty officers searched the area but did not find the man, police said.
Through investigation, police learned the woman was walking through Civic Center Plaza and headed toward the City Hall building when “a man rushed toward her,” per the release.
He “aggressively blocked her path,” then yelled a racial slur, according to police.
Out of fear, the woman ran, but the yelling man followed, police said.
When she got to the street, he stopped trailing her, police said.
While officers were talking with the woman, someone called 911 to report a man “harassing customers and walking in and out of traffic in front of the Town and Country Shopping Center,” about a half-mile away from City Hall, police said.
After arriving at the shopping center, officers detained the man and determined he was the suspect from the City Hall incident, police said.
The 44-year-old man was booked into jail on hate crime and malicious obstruction charges, police said.
Palo Alto is about a 30-mile drive southeast from San Francisco.
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 8:47 AM with the headline "Man yells racial slur at woman outside city hall, then chases her, California cops say."
