Authorities say this month’s brutal beating of a father who was attacked after protecting his daughter at Valleyfair is not a hate crime.
Scott County Attorney Patrick Ciliberto says that since the group of young black men attacked the father, Ciliberto’s office has gotten calls urging that he charge the men with a hate crime.
But Ciliberto says that’s not an option because the victim is also black.
Ciliberto is making the victim’s race public because the case has prompted intense public discussion. He wants to clear up some facts.
The 41-year-old victim and his family were walking out of the amusement park about midnight on July 4 when two young men began harassing his teenage daughter. At first, it appeared she was slapped on the buttocks, but now police say she was swatted on the head. The father yelled, and one man called in friends who began beating, kicking and stomping on the father.
Police initially said the girl was 12 but later said she was 15 and has since turned 16.
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Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com
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