Calgary man charged with hate-motivated assault

March 12, 2024 Canuck

Calgary police say a 39-year-old Calgary man has been charged with assault and mischief after a hate-motivated assault in the northeast community of Coral Springs.

Police say a man was driving his van to work around 4 p.m. on March 6 in the 5000 block of Falsbridge Gate Northeast when an SUV pulled up behind him at a stop sign.

The driver of the SUV began honking at the victim’s vehicle, following him into a nearby parking lot.

When the victim stopped his vehicle the other driver began swearing and shouting racial slurs while throwing garbage at the victim, who remained inside his parked vehicle, police say.

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The suspect then got out of his vehicle and approached the victim while continuing to shout, kicking and punching at the driver’s side window of the victim’s van in what investigators believe was an attempt to gain access.

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Police say a passenger, who was also in the victim’s vehicle, began to film the interaction, after which the suspect returned to his SUV, continuing to hurl racial slurs, and then drove away.

The passenger was able to get the licence plate of the SUV the man was driving and reported it to police.

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On March 7, police arrested 39-year-old Christopher Whitney MacPherson, who has been charged with one count of assault and one count of mischief. Both charges have been deemed hate-motivated. MacPherson was also arrested on an outstanding warrant in relation to a previous charge of mischief, which has also been determined to be hate-motivated.

“This assault took place as the victim and his family were going about their day in our city,” acting sergeant Matt Messenger of the Calgary Police Service hate crime prevention team says. “Being attacked at random, based solely on the colour of your skin, is absolutely unacceptable and we are committed to ensuring there is no place for hate in Calgary.”

Police say hate-motivated crimes are offences like assault, theft and vandalism, where the offender was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on one of nine personal characteristics of the victim. For more information or to report hate-motivated crimes, police urge you to visit www.reporthate.ca.

MacPherson will next appear in court on Wednesday, April 3.

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