A New York teenager was attacked by a stranger a few weeks ago during a cross-country race.
On Oct. 14, 15-year-old Chase T. Coleman, who is autistic and non-verbal, was attacked while running in the race by a 57-year-old man. The man allegedly got out of his car and shoved Chase to the ground before taking off again.
Witness Collin Thompson was running when she saw Chase in the middle of the road and watched as the man got out of his car and shoved Chase to the ground, telling him to “get out of here.”
When interviewed by police, the attacker claimed that his car had recently been broken into and that he thought Chase was going to mug him and his wife, who was in the car with him at the time. Furthermore, he said that Chase was not responding to him when he told him to leave the road.
However, on Oct. 21, Judge Caroline Morrison of Rochester City Court denied the warrant application to press second-degree assault charges.
“They are treating him like a third class citizen. He has the double whammy, he’s black and has a disability. So it’s not important, that’s what Rochester is telling me,” said his mother.
“When he left Rochester, he did not feel safe and he lost that love and that joy. To hear him tell me ‘no more practice,’ that hurts.”
