MONTEBELLO, Calif. — A troubling trend in Los Angeles County has continued in recent years. Hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander increased by 31% from 2022 to 2023, according to county data.
Aki Maehara, a 71-year-old Japanese American who is a veteran and works as a professor in East LA, was on the way home from his job in late April when he was being followed by a sedan. Maehara said the driver yelled a racial slur and barrelled toward him.
“I heard somebody yell out [a racial slur],” Maehara said. “And then I got hit.”…