Filipino family hurt in Los Angeles hate attack demands justice

Nearly a hundred supporters from Filipino community members and student organizations rally in solidarity with the Roque family in their quest for justice. INQUIRER/Jun Nucum

LOS ANGELES – After almost a year of waiting, a Filipino family that was verbally and physically assaulted in a popular fast food restaurant last year finally had preliminary hearings April 4 to 6 to determine whether the case against their assailant will proceed to trial.

However, the Roque family had to endure “hurtful and insulting” questioning by their assailant’s lawyer, including the insinuation that they had ill-intentions for raising awareness of anti-Asian hate.

At the hearings, members of the Roque family recounted the attack.

On that night of May 13 last year, a Jeep driven by Nicholas Weber bumped the rear of 47-year-old Nerissa Roque’s car while she and her daughter, Patricia, 19, were in the drive-thru lane of a McDonald’s on Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood.

Weber allegedly hurled anti-Asian invectives at the two women, appeared to grab Nerissa’s neck, in the process hitting her in the chest, and then punched 62-year-old patriarch Gabriel Roque when he tried to stop Weber from opening the door of the women’s car. Gabriel fell to the ground, suffering broken ribs and a bruised left arm.

An important evidence was Patricia’s video of the actual attack. She started filming to get Weber’s license plate number before the attack ensued.

The family members said they were deeply traumatized by the incident and needed counseling. Nerissa Roque stated that she didn’t want the same thing to happen to another Asian family.

Weber is charged with two counts of felony battery for the attack on Gabriel and Nerissa Roque as well as a hate crime allegation stemming from the physical assault, verbal harassment through racist remarks and threats of violence, and property damage.

Defense questioning

The Roques complained that at the preliminary hearings they were barraged with questions and statements from the defense that dismissed the validity of their experience, twisted their testimonies and painted a false narrative of the Roque family’s motive for pursuing the hate crime allegation.

Patricia Roque is optimistic that her family will get the justice, owing to the evidence against a hate crime suspect and the support they are getting from the community. INQUIRER/Jun Nucum

“The first day I got so emotional with my sister, I was trying to hold it back,” another Roque daughter, Ysabel, said. “I just couldn’t see how they push something that’s way far from the truth.”

The court is currently, on recess as evidence review takes place. The judge is anticipated to decide on whether the case will go to trial on the upcoming April 17 court date.

Community support

About a hundred Asian American, Filipino, and other community organizations including Filipino Migrant Center, Progressive Asian Network, rallied outside the Los Angeles Superior Court in Van Nuys. Many took time off work, skipped classes and drove for over an hour to lend their support to the Roque family.

Patricia Roque, a University of California Irvine sophomore, who is in the forefront of her family’s campaign for justice, expressed optimism in an exclusive INQUIRER.net interview, but was still pained by their experience.

“Even on that night, the Los Angeles Police took more than an hour before they arrived at the scene when damage and attacks, both verbally and physically, had been done,” she recalled.

“The LAPD also discouraged us from filing a lawsuit against Weber when we first reported the hate crime That alone shows you how little support victims get when it comes to authorities,” rued Patricia. “Add to this, my Dad had to wait at the emergency room for six hours just to get checked.”

Her optimism is buoyed by the support from members of the community, Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike, including the numerous student organizations who have been with them since the start.

Hopeful

“I am hopeful that our case will go to trial and hopefully the evidence that will be shown in court is enough, as I am 100 percent sure it is. It will be a victory if our case will go to trial,” Patricia shared.

“But, unfortunately, the actual trial could take another year. That is how the court system and process go which is something very disheartening to us victims because at the end of the day, all we want is justice for what has happened to us.”

A personal silver lining for Patricia is that she has been more vocal; she has been the public speaker for her family.

“My mom was against that at first fearing for my safety. I disregarded that, because I feel that it is very important as victims to speak, to be a voice not only for my family but also for other fellow victims who may not have the courage to speak up for what they have experienced. It is not just my family who is waiting. It is the entire the community,” she stressed.

Her mother, Nerissa, agreed, “It is not just for the Roque family but other working-class migrant families who might have experiences like this and might not have the resources the same support to come forward and actually seek justice.”