SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) made an arrest following a viral video posted on Sunday, February 23, featuring the robbery and abuse of an elderly Asian man who was collecting recyclables in the Bayview District.
Dwayne Grayson, 20, was taken into custody on Thursday, February 27. He was the individual recorded and he also posted the incident online.
The SFPD became aware of the video the day after it was posted and the Bayview Station Investigations Team commenced an investigation to identify the victim and assailants in incident. The assignment was passed to the SFPD Special Investigations Division.
The victim has been identified as a 68 year-old man. He was located Wednesday, but his name was not disclosed to the public. He had been on Osceola Lane with his cart of recyclables when the incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. The victim was struck in the back of the head with his own metal grabber and lost his collection of recyclables.
It is reported that he complained of pain from the strike, but showed no visible signs of injury on his body.
Grayson was arrested around 8:15 a.m. on Thursday outside of his home on Kirkwood Avenue. He was charged with “robbery, elder abuse, a probation violation for a prior robbery conviction and a hate crime enhancement.”
The SFPD accounts the arrest was the result from the help of the community along with the work of their officers in the investigation. The other suspect in the video has been identified and the SFPD is continuing their search to locate him.
