Third alleged hate crime in San Bruno being investigated

The case has been sent to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office for prosecution review — the third potential hate crime case out of San Bruno since May. The DA's Office is currently evaluating the August altercation, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

The DA's Office investigated another physical altercation that occurred during a weekly pro-Palestine rally May 2. In June, police arrested a 17-year-old on suspicion of brandishing a knife and committing a hate crime against a man praying in a shopping center parking lot — the DA's Office has not received that case for prosecution as of Sept. 5, Wagstaffe said.

San Bruno resident Jamal Katout was the victim in the May altercation, he said, describing another man harassing him and calling him a "f—ing terrorist" and "f—ing Arab" before

initiating a fight and shoving him. The altercation resulted in Katout sprawled across El Camino Real in a potentially life-threatening situation, he said.

The DA's Office chose not to prosecute the case because they didn't believe a jury would find battery "beyond a reasonable doubt," Wagstaffe said. Both men involved claimed to be victims of the incident and it would be challenging for a jury to determine the case was not mutual combat, he said.

Katout was also present for the Aug. 22 altercation eventually resulting in Smallman's arrest. It was the second time Smallman had intruded on the weekly rally, according to Katout — the man allegedly yelled racial epithets at the group, including “f—ing terrorists,” “f—ing Hamas,” on Aug. 8.

Smallman allegedly came back to the demonstration Aug. 22, continuing to verbally assault the group, calling them slurs and, according to Katout, positioning himself to be physically aggressive with several demonstrators — including his daughter, Eleni Katout.

Eleni Katout shared a similar testimony at a San Bruno City Council meeting Aug. 27.

"With all the grace of a wrecking ball, he continued to bump into me," she said. "In front of children, he was hurling racist and Islamaphobic slurs, calling us all terrorists and accusing us of beheading babies."

She also expressed disappointment with the city's continued lack of action and protections for its Muslim and pro-Palestinian residents, citing the City Council's rejection of agendizing a ceasefire resolution in January despite hundreds of residents supporting the action.

Mayor Rico Medina addressed the altercations at that same City Council meeting.

"We and this city do not condone it, and we support the public's constitutional right to assemble and gather and lawfully engage in peaceful protest activity," he said. "No one, whether you agree or disagree, has any right to do otherwise."

Jamal Katout also referenced the city's response after it denied residents indoor space to pray and break their Ramadan fast while attending a March 12 City Council meeting — garnering demands for an apology from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim

rights group — as extremely disappointing.

The city retracted its original statement and issued a clarification five months later, but many community members both felt that was insufficient and now feel unsafe at the weekly demonstrations, Katout said.

"We have some members of our community that have told us that for the near future they won't be coming with their children because they don't know what's going to happen, they don't feel safe, which is very understandable," Jamal Katout said. "It's completely peaceful. We're advocating for this genocide to end, we're advocating for Palestinians to live in peace."

holly@smdailyjournal.com

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