EL CERRITO — Police on Monday asked the public to help them find a person who they said pushed down a woman and took her flag by force before burning it.
Investigators consider the case a hate crime, and police said the incident was caught on camera during protests over Israel and Gaza on Saturday.
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According to police, demonstrators calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and counter-demonstrators in support of Israel marched from from Albany to El Cerrito and took over the intersection of Carlson Boulevard and San Pablo Avenue.
Police said a male supporting Gaza went up behind a woman and pushed her down and took her Israeli flag. He then lit it on fire in the street, police said.
Video cameras caught the entire thing, police said. They released still images of the suspect on Monday but not the video.
The male, whose age isn’t known, appears to be an adult, but his face is covered by a black-and-white checkered scarf being used as a mask. He wore a blue jeans jacket with a design on the upper right sleeve. He also wore dark pants and a dark-colored hat.
The woman suffered what police termed a minor injury.
The protesters — police said there were about 100 of them — blocked traffic at the intersection for more than an hour.
“The El Cerrito Police Department supports the constitutional rights of all people to freedom of speech and assembly,” the department said in its statement. “However, when these acts become criminal, they will be thoroughly investigated and presented to the District Attorney’s Office for review and prosecution when appropriate.”
Police are still looking for witnesses and asked anyone with information to contact them at 510-215-4417 or [email protected].
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