A white male with a criminal record allegedly kicked a one-year-old Black boy to the floor of a Wichita store then proceeded to hurl racial slurs and ranted about being a white supremacist.
The child’s mother was hoping the assault would be handled properly and that the racist would be punished for what she considers a serious offense. Instead, Lashantai Whitaker says the case has been assigned to the lowest court level — Municipal Court, where 31-year-old Trace Riff is being accused of a few misdemeanors; suspicion of ethnic intimidation, battery and resisting arrest, The Wichita Eagle reported.
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“Attacking a child — I wouldn’t think that’s the appropriate court for that,” Whitaker said.
To make the matter even more infuriating, Riff was able to get out of the Sedgewick County Jail after posting a $3,500 bond within just hours after his arrest Sunday morning. The incident reportedly went down inside the Dillons grocery store at Douglas and Hillside.
Riff described himself in court papers as being homeless and now that he’s free, Whitaker and the child’s grandmother, Yolanda Frierson, worry that the has “a lot of time to be roaming” the streets until he is due in court on Jan. 14.
“I don’t understand,” said Frierson. “He’s out just hours after he attacked a baby.”
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District Attorney Marc Bennett explained in an email to The Eagle why the crime was initially referred by the Wichita Police Department to the city’s Municipal Court.
Under Kansas law, Bennett noted, “when someone has unwanted physical contact with another, the crime is typically battery. If the victim is not significantly injured, the crime is misdemeanor battery,” which involves “rude, angry or insolent touching.” “It becomes aggravated battery if a weapon was used or if the victim was injured (“great bodily harm”),” he explained in an email.
Whitaker said the thick coat that her son was wearing when he was kicked protected him from physical injury. But the was still understandably shaken by the violence.
“I understand the law, but it’s not like he kicked an adult. He kicked a 1-year-old,” Whitaker said. “Even though he didn’t really injure him, he could have.”
Bennett said his office will be reviewing the case to determine if it will file charges.
