ORLANDO, Fla. — As a professional pianist and opera singer, Shirley Wang is used to being the center of attention. But that attention took on a different and dangerous tone last March during a visit to a pharmacy.

“Somebody started walking toward me, wagging their finger and told me, 'It’s all your fault. You’re full of propaganda,' and I started backing away, and he just kept coming toward me,” Wang said.

Wang said the man eventually ran away after she became so upset, she started coughing violently.

She did not report what happened, because she wasn’t sure who to call or whether law enforcement would care.

A recent study from California State University, San Bernardino found that anti-Asian hate crime increased 149% in 2020 within the 16 largest American cities. And according to a report by nonprofit group Stop AAPI Hate, from March 2020 to February 2021, Florida ranked eighth in the nation for anti-Asian American incidents. 

Despite those figures, the Orlando Police Department says it hasn't received a single complaint about Asian American harassment during that time frame. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said it hasn't received a single report in the past six years.

But "we want to know about those (incidents)," Orange County Sheriff John Mina told us. "So how it gets categorized, let us worry about it. If it is a threat, that’s a crime."

Mina said anyone who feels they were threatened should call 911 or the Sheriff's Office's nonemergency number at 407-836-HELP (4357).

"This is the first time I’ve heard that," Wang said. "I’m so grateful that they’re interested and willing, but I wish I had known this a year ago."

We wondered whether there were any perceived disconnects between Central Florida's Asian American community and local law enforcement agencies.

“I haven’t received any feedback about there being a disconnect," Mina said. "Certainly, we would want to know that, and we’ll put ourselves out there to continue to meet with different community groups and businesses."

Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon said his agency is also looking at how to better connect with the Asian American community.

"We need to create a better communication system so that people feel empowered to report these types of incidents," Rolon said. "First and most important, I think we need to identify the officers who have a direct connection with every segment of our community."

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said he’s focused on public policies and education to further include and represent the Asian American community.

“When we are instituting public policy, we do so by looking through the lens of the entire community," he said.

For Wang, she hopes these conversations continue to improve relations between the Asian American community and law enforcement so hate incidents don't go unreported or forgotten.

"Hopefully, it will open up dialogues, and we can have more communication between different groups and don’t let it go away," Wang said.