Coeur d’Alene Prosecutor: No charges in racist incident involving University of Utah basketball team

COEUR d’ALENE – No criminal charges will be filed against an 18-year-old Post Falls student in connection with a racist incident that gained national attention in March, the city’s chief deputy attorney said Monday.

“In short, I cannot find probable cause that Anthony Myers’ conduct – yelling from a moving vehicle at a group of people – constituted either disturbing the peace under state law or disorderly conduct under the CDA Municipal Code. The very beginning of this incident is that it was not when, where, or how Mr. Myers made the grotesque racist statement that caused the righteous indignation in this case; it was the grotesque racist statement itself,” Ryan S. Hunter wrote in a six-page complaint review tax decision dated May 3.

Read the full review at cdapress.com.

The March 21 racist incident was reported in downtown Coeur d’Alene involving the University of Utah women’s basketball team.

According to the charging decision, the team and others from the Coeur d’Alene Resort walked several blocks to Crafted at Fifth Street and Sherman Avenue for a dinner reservation for 90 people at 5:30 p.m.

“The U of U contingent arrived at Crafted shortly after 5:35 p.m., with no clear indications captured in surveillance video recordings or confirmed by outside witnesses that anything was wrong with the group or any of its members,” Hunter wrote.

At approximately 7 p.m., the contingent began leaving Crafted and walked in several small groups west on Sherman Avenue back toward The Resort. At approximately 7:15 a.m., surveillance video captured a silver passenger car traveling westbound on Sherman Avenue, from which someone could be heard yelling a racial and obscene comment.

The incident was reported to police around 10 p.m. by Robert Moyer, a donor to the University of Utah basketball team who was traveling with them.

It happened shortly after the traveling party arrived in the area to participate in the first and second rounds of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, hosted by Gonzaga University in Spokane.

A few days later, city leaders held a press conference and apologized. The event received national media attention.

According to a March 26 statement from the University of Utah, “the players, band and spirit teams, as well as staff, administrators and supporters” remain deeply disturbed and shocked by the hateful and disturbing actions and vitriol directed at them in Coeur is aimed. d’Alene.”

Paul Kirk, senior associate of strategic communications for University of Utah Athletics, could not be reached for comment Monday.

Police later said they had reviewed the audio and video recordings that were confirmed reports of what happened, and that they were looking for the driver of a silver sedan in connection with the incident.

Police also sent an investigator to the University of Utah, where eleven people were interviewed.

According to Hunter’s report, the Coeur d’Alene Police Department “conducted the subsequent in-depth investigation into the identities of the four occupants of the silver passenger car and ultimately confirmed that one of the individuals in that vehicle, Anthony Richard Myers, had been for 18 years – longtime student at Post Falls High School, made the offensive statement including the racist comments, which he subsequently confessed to during interviews with law enforcement.”

Hunter wrote that the investigation also found that Myers “shouted the N-word as the vehicle passed in front of Crafted, just before saying it again as part of the obscene statement directed at members of the U of U contingent.”

Hunter also wrote that Myers later tried to recant part of his confession, saying another person in the car made the obscene and racist statement.

“However, there is very little evidence to support this post hoc claim, while there is substantial evidence to support his original confession,” Hunter wrote.

Although it was initially reported that two lifted pickups were revving their engines and speeding by the team, the loading decision document stated that this was incorrect.

Hunter wrote that “there is no audio or video evidence to substantiate the original report that several vehicles revved their engines and drove by in a deliberate attempt to intimidate and/or harass the U of U contingent while traveling to or from dinner at Crafted. . Although not captured in an audio recording, five credible eyewitness accounts confirmed that someone shouted the N-word at a particular member of the U of U contingent during their walk to Crafted.

But Hunter wrote that those stories varied widely in the description of the vehicle and the individuals involved in shouting racial slurs “with the only uniformity in the identity of the perpetrator being a white male.”

In his decision, Hunter cited numerous municipal codes and the 2004 Idaho Supreme Court case State v. Poe to indicate why charges of malicious harassment, disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct could not be successfully brought in this case.

“Our office shares in the outrage sparked by Anthony Myers’ abhorrent racist and misogynistic statement, and we join in unequivocally condemning that statement and the use of racial slurs in this case, or in any other circumstance. However, this cannot be the case under current legislation. form the basis for criminal charges in this case,” Hunter wrote.

In a summary of the charging decision, Hunter wrote: “The prosecution declined due to insufficient evidence to establish probable cause as to any element of any of the potential violation(s) without relying on First Amendment protected speech. ”

City leaders responded to the decision when requested by The Press

“I am disappointed that the law does not allow us to hold these people accountable for the pain they have caused,” Mayor Jim Hammond said.

Coeur d’Alene City Council Member Christie Wood said she respected and appreciated the work of law enforcement and prosecutors in this case.

“I think they did everything they could to seek justice,” she said. “We are a nation of laws and we obey the laws.”

However, Wood said the victims “need our support and this has indeed occurred.”

She said that after the incident was reported, many questioned its veracity and some even called it a hoax, which she said was “completely unfair.”

She said the city still regrets what happened and will continue to support the victims.

“We will focus on inclusivity, diversity and respect in the city,” Wood said.