'We are outraged': Cyclist spits at Calgary woman, calls her a racial slur on park path
A video showing an alleged racist attack that took place Saturday evening against an Asian woman in Calgary is making the rounds on social media.
The video begins with Braeden Riehl, a photographer based in the city, filming his girlfriend, from behind, longboarding along a park path. Just moments into the video, a cyclist comes at speed around a bend and spits at the woman, who identified herself as Jessica Lau on Instagram.
As the cyclist passes the couple, he calls Lau a “stupid ch-nk” and continues biking.
The couple are audibly shocked at the interaction, with Lau and Riehl saying, “Whoa, what the f–k, dude?”
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STILL THINK RACISM DOESN’T EXIST IN CANADA!?!? UPDATE: Although Jess and I haven’t heard from the police themselves, the news are reporting that he is now in custody awaiting charges. This man spit on my girlfriend @itsjesslau DURING A PANDEMIC and called her a “fucking ch*nk” and sped off on his bicycle. We are outraged. He also did this to another couple behind us who were Caucasian. I can’t believe I caught this on video. So much for a Saturday night out hey? If you or someone you know has any information as to who this is please pass it on. The worst type of person. We are forwarding it to CPS. EDIT: The police have filed many claims of this guy doing the same thing to a lot of people. They’ve identified him and I believe charges will be made. Thanks for the positivity everyone!
A post shared by B R A E D E N - Video // Photo (@braedenriehl) on Jul 18, 2020 at 7:47pm PDT
“We are outraged,” Riehl said in the Instagram post of the video. “He also did this to another couple behind us who were Caucasian.”
The University of Calgary’s athletics and sports department on Instagram identified the cyclist as Justin Williams, who had been an employee at the university up until February, though it did not say in what capacity. “We strongly condemn the actions in this video and join the community in extending our support to victims Jessica and her boyfriend,” a statement on the university’s Instagram story read. The statement also alluded to racist social media posts that Williams made in the past.
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Pending charges and a huge thank you to the community.
A post shared by JESSICA | Life Lover (@itsjesslau) on Jul 19, 2020 at 1:27pm PDT
In a separate Instagram post on Sunday, Lau said she received an outpouring of support and also learned that there have been several more incidents in the past of the cyclist allegedly spewing racist remarks at passersby.
“The police have updated us and there are current pending charges against him,” she said, adding she hopes Williams doesn’t commit another racist attack in the future. “I know that he’s ill inside and that he needs help.”