Charges have been laid following what police believe was a hate-motivated incident this summer.
A Tuesday release from the Calgary Police Service states that they have charged a man in relation to an August 1 incident in which a suspect allegedly spat on a drag king who had been shooting a video on the rainbow crosswalk at Centre Street and Stephen Avenue.
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Following the incident, police released video footage of the area as well as a photo of the suspect, which eventually led to an arrest on October 15.
Police now state that 37-year-old Craig McGillis of Tsuut’ina has been charged with one count of assault.
As police believe that the crime was hate-motivated, McGillis could be facing harsher consequences during sentencing if the judge believes similarly.
“Hate-motivated crimes are recognizable crimes, like assault, theft, vandalism or any other crime, where the offender was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate that is based on one of nine personal characteristics of the victim,” the release states.
“These types of offences not only harm the victim but can have larger impacts in the community. They can leave others who share the same characteristic concerned that they too may be targeted, which undermines their feeling of safety in our city.”
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