Hamilton police say video of road rage is ‘hate incident’ but they can’t lay charges
Warning: This text comprises offensive language.
Police in Hamilton, Ont., aren’t laying fees regardless of saying they take into account a viral highway rage video a hate-related incident.
Const. Indy Bharaj advised CBC Hamilton that whereas what befell was a “hate incident,” it wasn’t unlawful.
Police issued a information launch on Tuesday concerning the 53-second video after CBC Hamilton requested about it a day earlier.
The video, posted on-line Sunday, seems to have been filmed close to the nook of Ottawa Road North and Important Road East.
It appears to start out in the midst of a heated altercation, with a person staring into the driver-side window.
Within the video, the driver seems to inform the person standing outdoors his automobile window to “get the f–k in your automobile proper now,” to which the person accuses the driving force of reducing him off.
WATCH | Man hurls offensive insult at driver in Hamilton:
The video exhibits an argument between two individuals that Hamilton police describes as a “hate incident.”
As the person was heading again to his personal automobile, he may very well be heard calling the driving force a “n—-r lover,” seemingly as a result of the passenger within the driver’s automobile was an individual of color.
The motive force yells again, asking the person to repeat what he mentioned.
“What did you say about my spouse?” yells the driving force.
The person walks again towards the driving force, seems to smack the automobile along with his hand and ask the driving force to get out of the automobile.
The person then walks again to his automobile and tells the driving force to “name the cops,” to which the driving force responds, “I’ll.”
Police to converse to man who made racist remarks
Bharaj mentioned police did not obtain an official report of the incident till Tuesday afternoon, when the one who shot the video got here ahead.
Whereas police aren’t laying any fees, Bharaj mentioned officers will converse to the one who made the “hate” remarks.
The video comes as Hamilton has seen a report variety of hate crimes.
In 2021, police reported 108 hate incidents (87 of which weren’t crimes), a 35 per cent enhance from 2020, however common when in comparison with previous years.
Lyndon George, government director of the Hamilton Anti-Racism Useful resource Centre (HARRC), mentioned in a telephone interview the incident exhibits why there ought to be harder federal laws on racist language.
“This is not freedom of speech; that is hate speech,” he mentioned.
“I perceive the constraints [in the Criminal Code] … however we have to maintain people accountable.”
HHS places employee on go away
HARRC famous on Twitter that the person who used the racial slur may match at Hamilton Well being Sciences (HHS): “As a health-care supplier that serves Hamilton’s numerous neighborhood, we’re calling on HHS to take fast motion to make sure the security of sufferers.”
HHS spokesperson Wendy Stewart advised CBC Hamilton on Tuesday morning that the hospital community is investigating.
“HHS condemns racism and intimidation in each type. We’re conscious of the video and are investigating accordingly,” she wrote.
Hours later, she mentioned the worker is on go away pending the end result of the investigation.
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