The civilian who called him "Asian" was trying very hard to be grounded and intelligible for the tv guy, but she (as a visual witness) was clearly shook up. Plus, read what Skibs has to say about the British definition of "Asian".
I'll just add that some people from the Indian sub-continent, which is whet we Brits generally mean by Asians, can be quite dark skinned, and I certainly wouldn't rule out the perpetrator.