A chef who starred in a Netflix show has spoken out after facing a racially charged attack Sunday night in downtown San Francisco.
South Africa-born Wendy Drew, who appeared in the limited series “You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment,” told The Standard she had just left Cafe Terminus in the Financial District, where she had been at a business meeting until around 9:30 p.m., when a man called her a racial slur.
“I said, ‘Why are you calling me that? Why?’ Then he turns and starts hitting me on the head. He punched me like three times on the head. I’m like, you’re not going to get away with hitting me,” Drew said.
The chef, who is Black, pulled the attacker, who was walking a dog, into a Drumm Street liquor store, where they struggled while she screamed for onlookers to call 911.
“I basically had him in a bear hug. I had my legs around him, and he kept trying to get away,” she said. “His dog comes by. I thought the dog wants to bite me, but the poor thing was just licking my face. I loosened my grip, and that’s when he started repeatedly punching me in the face.”
https://player.vimeo.com/video/1005976966?dnt=1&app_id=122963Surveillance video shows the fight between Drew and a man identified by police as Irvin Rivera-Lara, 31.
Surveillance video from inside the store, obtained by The Standard, shows Drew locked in a fight with a man identified by police as Irvin Rivera-Lara. As they scuffle near a fridge, a customer pepper-sprays Rivera-Lara, who holds down Drew and repeatedly punches her, the video shows. A clerk who had been behind the register is seen talking on the phone while pacing. When Drew and Rivera-Lara stand up, she tries to prevent him from leaving the store, but he shoves her out of the way.
She then followed him outside and screamed for help. Her boyfriend and several other men ran out of Cafe Terminus and held the man until police arrived, she said.
The scuffle left blood behind the counter and on the door of the liquor store, a clerk told The Standard.
“I just had to clean some up yesterday,” said Omar, who did not provide a last name due to privacy reasons.
Drew said she initially thought the attacker looked “like a tech bro” wearing a black hoodie but later learned he was homeless and has a violent record.
“He just looked like someone who was taking his dog for a walk,” Drew said. “It turned out he was homeless. It didn’t seem like he had any mental issues at face value.”
Drew’s face was battered, requiring a gash to be glued shut at the hospital. She also needed a tetanus shot.
“I also got a concussion and a broken nose. It may require surgery; they are not sure yet,” she said.
Drew thanked the staff at Cafe Terminus who ran to her aid and police for a quick response.
“I overheard the guy say it was self-defense,” she said. “The officer said, ‘I’m not buying that.’ The officer said, ‘What did she do to you? I’m not buying that nonsense.’”
Rivera-Lara was arrested on suspicion of assault likely to cause great bodily injury, committing a hate crime, and providing false information to an officer. The 31-year-old was arrested last year on suspicion of attacking the co-owner of a Haight Street sandwich shop who had confronted him for urinating on trash cans near the eatery. Rivera-Lara later reconciled with Sandy’s Muffs proprietorPeterson Harter after spending months in jail.
Sunday’s assault follows other racist incidents reported in San Francisco over the past few months. In May, dog walker Terry Williams spoke out after finding blackface dolls with nooses around their necks near his Alamo Square home. In June, racist graffiti was painted next to the front doors of City Hall. And last week, racist graffiti and a noose were discovered outside the doors of a Black-led nonprofit.
