Los Angeles Times

Parking-space fight a hate crime?

White man who brawled with black woman used slurs, campus cops say.

- By Melissa Etehad melissa.etehad@latimes.com Twitter: @melissaete­had

dispute over a parking space escalated Tuesday into racial slurs and a physical altercatio­n in what officials at Santa Monica College describe as a hate crime.

The dispute, which was captured on video by a college student, took place about 6:30 p.m. at a Santa Monica College Performing Arts Campus parking lot.

In the minute-long video posted on Facebook, an older white man is seen repeatedly yelling racial slurs at a younger African American woman.

The altercatio­n escalated to kicks and shoves.

At one point during the video, the man tells the woman: “You don’t belong here, go back to South L.A.”

Bystanders can be heard in the background urging the woman to leave.

“He’s not worth your time,” a person tells the woman.

The video does not show the beginning of the confrontat­ion. Santa Monica College Chief of Police Johnnie Adams said the dispute started over the woman’s parked car, which was taking up more than one parking spot.

“The woman was in the process of rectifying the situation when it escalated and turned into that physical altercatio­n,” Adams said.

College police took Fredric Allan Shinerock, 80, into custody, according to a statement by the department.

Shinerock was cited on suspicion of misdemeano­r battery and released.

Due to repeated racial slurs and a derogatory statement made toward the woman, Santa Monica College officials classified the incident as a hate crime, Adams said.

“In totality we felt the elements of bias against that person was motivated in part by race,” he said.

The Santa Monica city attorney’s office will review the case and separately determine whether the incident can be labeled as a hate crime under California statA utes.

Santa Monica College President Kathryn E. Jeffery said in a statement that school officials took immediate action to remind students and guests that “there is no room for hate.”

“Santa Monica College is an institutio­n that prides itself on inclusivit­y and diversity,” Jeffery said in a statement.

“We will continue to do our utmost to uphold our commitment to provide a safe and inclusive learning environmen­t.”

Shinerock did not immediatel­y respond to requests for comment.

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