PORTLAND, Oregon — Police need help to identify a man accused of spitting on and physically assaulting a southwest Portland business owner and his family. Portland police released photos of the suspect on Monday.
On Aug. 21, a police officer responded to the assault around 2:45 p.m. near Southwest 2nd Avenue and Southwest Pine Street. Tommy Ly told police that there was an altercation with a "biker." Ly told KGW that he and his family were walking in a crosswalk when the man on a bike "came barreling down" and almost hit his mom. He told the man to watch out and that's when the situation escalated.
"He turned back around and just started yelling racial slurs at us… stuff I don’t really want to repeat anymore," Ly told KGW in an interview after the assault.
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Ly also said that the man flicked a burning cigarette at his mom and threw a punch at him. He said that's when he warned the man that he was armed with mace.
"He just biked back around, got close to my mom and spit in her face and at that point I just lost it, and just grabbed my mace and emptied the whole can straight into his face and then he just biked off," Ly said.
Ly, who owns Stumptown Otaku in downtown Portland, said he's used to protecting his business and that all his employees carry a canister of pepper spray.
Portland police called the incident a "racially motivated assault" and they're investigating it as a bias crime.
Anyone with details on the suspect can submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers of Oregon, which offers up to $2,500 for information that leads to an arrest in any unsolved, felony crime.