No charges for woman in video of racist rant: Richmond RCMP
Posted August 27, 2019 2:41 pm.
Last Updated August 27, 2019 2:42 pm.
RICHMOND (NEWS 1130) – The Richmond RCMP says there will be no criminal charges after a racist rant in a Richmond parking lot was captured on video and went viral on social media last week.
Mounties say based on their investigation, what happened does not meet the requirement for charges to be laid.
In the video, which surfaced Friday, a white woman raises her voice at a woman off-camera after what appears to be a parking dispute. Two cars are parked bumper to bumper, and one has crossed the white line dividing two spots. The woman sticks her tongue out, repeatedly uses a racial slur, and swears at the woman off-camera.
“Go back to China where you belong,” she says. “We hate you people.”
RELATED: Hate crime charges unlikely in case of racist rant in Richmond: criminal lawyer
The video prompted backlash online, and social media users quickly began sharing links to what they said was the woman’s Facebook page, her name, even pictures of her license plate. By Saturday evening, over 3,500 comments had been posted to that Facebook page.
And the Richmond RCMP says while what she did might not warrant criminal charges, some of the internet reaction crosses the line into cyberbullying.
“While this incident does not meet the threshold for criminal charge, some of the responses on social media could be considered criminal in nature,” a release says.
“We can appreciate that the community here in Richmond and the extended community online feels strongly about comments made in the video, but we would certainly not wish for anyone to cross the line from spirited conversation to criminal cyberbullying,” says Richmond RCMP Inspector Sunny Parmar. “We must respect this individual is still entitled to due process and has a reasonable expectation of personal privacy.”
