According to the Syracuse Post-Standard, the Washington Post and Rochester Police, an autistic student from a Syracuse high school cross-country team was assaulted during a race in Cobb’s Hill Park by a Pittsford man who told deputies he thought the black teenager running up the middle of the road was going to mug his wife.
Rochester Police said today they’re consulting with the District Attorney’s office and the boy’s family to see if the man will face charges.
Fifteen-year-old Chase Coleman of the Corcoran High School track team in Syracuse was running in a meet near the Cobb’s Hill Reservoir. When he didn’t pass by where she was waiting, his mother went to look for the teen, who is non-verbal and sometimes gets lost or confused. She found him being helped by a bicyclist who had witnessed the assault.
That witness and others described a man later identified as Martin MacDonald of Pittsford jumping out of his car and shoving the teenager to the ground while shouting at him to “get out of here.” They got his license number and Monroe County Deputies tracked MacDonald down.
The 57-year-old admitted knocking Chase Coleman to the ground, saying African-American teenagers had recently broken into his car. He told deputies that when Coleman, who is black, didn’t answer him, he thought the teenager planned to snatch his wife’s purse.
Clarise Coleman says her son was in uniform and had his race number pinned on his jersey. She believes he was assaulted because he’s black and wants to press charges against MacDonald.
Police duly issued a warrant application charging him with harassment, but Rochester City Court Judge Caroline Morrison denied the warrant and sent a letter to the Colemans saying MacDonald would not be charged. The family has written back to the Monroe County District Attorney’s office asking for an explanation.
DA Sandra Doorley says her part in any prosecution doesn’t begin until charges are filed.
Rochester Police say they’re continuing to investigate the incident, which happened October 14th, and are working with the Coleman family to determine what happens next.