Grover Beach bank manager beaten, called racist slur after asking man to wear a mask
A Grover Beach bank manager and Army veteran says he was called a racist slur and then attacked and beaten in the parking lot — all because he asked a customer to wear a mask.
Police have confirmed they are investigating a report of a hate crime and battery that occurred in the city last week, but they declined to disclose further details.
A., who asked to remain anonymous because he is concerned about his and his family’s safety, told The Tribune he was at work at the Wells Fargo on Grand Avenue the afternoon of Sept. 3 when a man walked in without a mask.
The man appeared to be in his mid-40s, bald and about 5 feet, 11 inches tall with an athletic build, A. said.
A. said he approached the man and “greeted him like I do every other client.” A. asked the man to wear a mask if he was going to do business in the lobby.
“He responded aggressively,” A. told The Tribune in an interview Wednesday.
A. offered one of the extra masks the bank keeps on hand for customers, to which the man became even more hostile and at one point began rooting through cabinets and drawers in the bank lobby.
A. asked him to stop and warned he would call the police to remove the man from the property.
“Then he says, ‘Well, you f----n’ sp--,’ “ said A., who is Hispanic. “He’s like, ‘Come outside.’”
Then the man said, “I better not catch you outside,” A. said. “Sort of famous last words.”
A. said he didn’t think much of the incident after the man left, chalking it up to heightened tensions around the county’s mask mandate.
But at the end of A.’s shift around 5:30 p.m., the man showed up in the parking lot while A. was trying to get into his car, he said.
The man grabbed him by the back and pushed him toward the small wall that lines the parking lot and began “wailing on him,” A. said.
A. said he at first was dazed but then slowly realized what was going on and began to fight back. It was also at this time he first recognized the man attacking him as the same person who had made threats earlier in the day, he said.
”I’m starting to gather myself a bit, and I realize I’m under attack,” he said.
The two fought and at one point, A. reached up and attempted to choke the man.
At this time, A. said he could hear one of his coworkers, who had also been leaving work at the same time, calling the police from her car.
Soon after, the man tried to flee, A. said. So he took off his suit jacket, pulled off his tie and ran after the man, A. said.
After chasing him up the block, with the sound of sirens approaching from the distance, the two ended up in the front yard of a home where A. was on one side of a car and the man on the other, he said.
When A. looked back to the approaching police to point out his attacker, the man scaled a nearby fence and disappeared, A. said.
A.’s wife, who initially contacted The Tribune regarding the incident, said her husband was in the emergency room after the attack with a concussion and lacerations to the head, hand and face.
“I’ve been in banking for 22 years now,” A. said. “Folks often maybe disagree with some of the rules and policies and they make their statements — to include threats — and, you know, that’s about it, and they never made good on it.”
This was different, he said.
“It’s crazy,” he added. “The guy went home, he plotted, he laid in wait, he ambushed me. And he called me a ‘sp--.’ I’m thinking, ‘Gosh, you know, he completely escalated on his own. He didn’t like the idea of having to wear a mask.’”
In a statement to The Tribune on Wednesday night, Grover Beach Mayor Jeff Lee said he was “angry and saddened to learn that this happened in Grover Beach.”
“We are an inclusive and diverse city and hateful speech and activity has no place in our, or any, community,” he said.
Lee asked the community to contact the Police Department with any information regarding the incident.
Grover Beach police investigating battery, hate crime incident
A. said he informed police at the scene about what happened, gave his statement and was told they would be in further contact with him after the weekend.
In a statement to The Tribune, Grover Beach Police Chief John Peters confirmed there was a report filed regarding a battery and hate crime in the Wells Fargo parking lot.
Peters declined to release any victim information and said the suspect has still not been identified.
“Our detectives are following up on some leads currently, so we will see if those pan out,” he said in an email to The Tribune. “If necessary, we may post an image on social media of the suspect if we are not able to positively identify them in the near future.”
The Police Department did not put out a news release following the incident, which Peters said was to “protect the integrity of the investigation so we can get a successful prosecution.”
“A release at this time would be premature and could negatively impact our investigation,” he wrote.
As of Wednesday, A. said he has not heard from police on the investigation and believes his attacker is still on the loose.
“It’s pretty frustrating to (know he is) running around, and I’m trying to get all the help that I can get,” A. said, “so that, you know, he can be charged and held accountable.”
A. has not been back to work since the incident.
“They haven’t caught this guy ... so I don’t know if it’s a good idea to go back and sit there until we do have an ID on him,” he said.
In the meantime, A. urged people to be aware of heightened tensions surrounding mask mandates.
“Folks are pretty serious about this mask policy,” he said. “It’s sad, but there’s a mask mandate and folks are taking it a bit too far. They’re getting a bit too serious. So, you have to be careful.”
Hate crime reported in Pismo Beach in April
This is the second high-profile hate crime to be reported in the South County this year.
In April, a group of white men attacked a Black man in front of Brad’s Restaurant in Pismo Beach. One witness, the father of the girlfriend of the man who was attacked, said he felt the incident was racially motivated.
Soon after, the city of Pismo Beach launched an investigation into the incident, saying “racism, violence and hate are not welcome in Pismo Beach.” No arrests have since been announced in the case.
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Grover Beach bank manager beaten, called racist slur after asking man to wear a mask."
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