Charges laid in June hate-motivated assault: Calgary police

A police vehicle is shown at Calgary Police Service headquarters in Calgary, Alta., on April 9, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Calgary police have laid charges in an assault this summer they allege was hate motivated.

The assault happened at the intersection of Southland Drive and Southport Road S.W. just before 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24.

Police say a man and woman were waiting to cross the street in a marked crosswalk when a stranger approached them and hit the man.

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The suspect allegedly shouted a racial comment before leaving the area on foot.

“The suspect later turned himself in to police in connection with a separate hate-motivated assault that occurred downtown,” police said in a Friday news release. “During the course of that investigation, he was identified as the suspect in this earlier incident.”

Kyle Dean Thompson, 32, had been charged with one count of assault and one count of assault causing bodily harm.

“Any evidence of hate motivation is considered by the courts after a person is found guilty of the connected crime. If the judge decides during sentencing that hate was a motivation for the offence, it is an aggravating factor that can add to the convicted person’s sentence,” police said.

Anyone with more information on the incident is asked to call police at 403-266-1234.

Tips can also be left anonymously through Crime Stoppers.