Woman arrested for allegedly hurling Asian curses, water bottles in Berkeley

BERKELEY, Calif. - The Alameda County District Attorney's Office charged a 56-year-old woman Tuesday with hate crime charges.

According to the Berkeley Police Department, two women were walking on the sidewalk a 3:58 p.m. Friday near Telegraph Avenue and Durant Avenue when they walked by Antoinette Archimede, who made eye contact with one of the women and then cursed her and her Asian ethnicity, before throwing water bottles at the women and walking away.

Police found Archimede a few blocks away and arrested her.

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The district attorney's office charged her with three offenses: willfully threatening a person based on perceived characteristics, using offensive words in a public place that are inherently likely to provide an immediate violent reaction and with battery.

Archimede was arrested by Berkeley police in January for a separate hate crime. In that case, police said she pushed a woman off a curb and made hateful statements about people of Mexican descent.

The Oaklandside reports that Archimede has more than 60 criminal cases listed in Alameda County Superior Court’s online docket system. She is a well-known presence on Berkeley streets and many community members have expressed concern about her behavior and circumstances over the years.

Many have said her situation is a prime example of the failure of Alameda County’s public institutions to get her the help and support she clearly needs.