Hate crime officials in Edmonton on Wednesday announced a total of 22 new charges against four people in six separate incidents they said were “motivated by hatred.”
There were a total of 23 “hate crimes” in the city from January to March, compared with 13 in the same period last year, the Edmonton Police Department said.
“We want citizens to know that this behavior will not be tolerated,” said Sergeant Gary Willits of EPS’s Hate Crimes and Violent Extremism Division (HCVEU).
“It is extremely important that the public report all cases of hatred, and we are very grateful to those who have testified in these files.
In each of the attacks announced on Wednesday, EPS recommended the application of section 718.2 of the Penal Code, which allows courts to consider increasing the sentence.
Willits said officers are trying to understand the motives behind each crime, and has learned that attackers often experience pain themselves.
“Some were very honest. They do have racist beliefs, they hurt and they are upset because of the trauma they have encountered themselves and they are acting. Some refuse to comment and then have some people who don’t. even remember the situation, ”he explained, adding that addictions and mental health are common factors.
“The solution is not prison. I understand that for the safety of the community we have to hold people accountable and sometimes people have to be safe, but the bigger picture is how to solve this globally because we have a few people out there hurting and we are trying to find a solution to them. return to contribute to society. “
A MAN WEARING A TURBAN ATTACKED
Police revealed on Wednesday that a 28-year-old South Asian man wearing a turban was spit on and threatened on the Southgate LRT platform. The attacker made racial comments during the incident, EPS reported.
Edmonton’s 34-year-old Andrew Antonius Debrouer has been charged with two counts of assault in the incident.
SALARY WORKERS
EPS also reported that on March 1, two workers in North Edmonton, one black and one from Southeast Asia, were spit on by a racial commentator.
A 17-year-old boy, whose name could not be named by law, has been charged with two counts of assault in the incident.
PISTOL AIMED AT THE FAMILY
Then on April 2, a black woman and a white man were walking with their baby in a stroller in the McCauley neighborhood, when a man started shouting racist insults and pointing a firearm at them, EPS reported.
The tactical team responded, found a copy of a firearm, and a 39-year-old man was arrested. A total of 11 charges have been filed against him, including assault with a weapon, criminal harassment, making threats, using imitation firearms in the commission of a criminal offense.
He has died since then. Police did not say how, but his name will not be released.
3 BLACK MEN BEAT
Another man, Gabriel Dale Cardinal, 46, is facing a total of seven charges of allegedly assaulting three black men in the 118 Avenue area.
Police said a black man was walking in the area on April 14 when the Cardinal approached, cursed and hit him.
Police also accuse Cardinal of approaching a black man on April 17, pushing him to the ground and hitting and kicking him before other people stopped their vehicles and chased away the attacker.
The cardinal also faced charges of assault with a weapon later that day when a black man in the same area was randomly hit on the head with a pipe. Police said Cardinal was arrested near the scene.
Anyone affected by a hate crime can contact the EPS Crime and Trauma Support Services at ctss@edmontonpolice.ca or call 780-421-2217.
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