TACOMA, Wash. — Dr. Anthony Chen, director of health of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (TPCHD), was attacked while out walking in Tacoma on Wednesday, according to a post written by Chen on the health department's blog.
Chen was attacked Wednesday morning while walking across the Chihuly Bridge in downtown Tacoma around 1:40 a.m. Chen said he is "fine" and was able to drive himself to the emergency room and seek specialty care.
Chen noticed a man doing bicycle tricks on the concrete benches on the bridge and expressed concern that the man was damaging the benches. The man said he was frustrated because there was nowhere for him to practice BMX tricks on his bike in Tacoma, at which point Chen walked away.
The man then knocked Chen down from behind and punched him as he stood up, according to the post. A police investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Chen said he doesn't believe the attack was motivated by his race or his position with TPCHD.
"People have asked me: was I targeted because I was Asian or because of my role as Director of Health at the Health Department?" Chen wrote. "I do not think so but the fact that people have to ask is a sad commentary for our times."
In the blog post, Chen called violence a public health concern, citing a rise in violence against Asian Americans and a rise in threats against public health officials during the pandemic.
"I will heal from the violent encounter and—as Director of Health for Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department—I will do everything in my capacity to help heal our communities and prevent violence of all forms," Chen wrote.
In a press conference Friday, Chen said his focus now is to address the root causes of violence within the community.
"You know you guys are on tv with me because I'm a prominent public official, but every day someone is getting hurt, whether it's a kid getting bullied at school or someone who is being hurt by their intimate partner, someone who gets in a fight or someone who happens to be collateral damage in a driveby shooting, there's a lot of violence going on in our community," he said. "This is something we need to address."
"We need to shift this culture we need to turn this ship around, I'm just a little blip in the violence going on around this country," Chen said.