Attack ‘feels like a hate crime’
Indigenous woman told she will likely die after being hit with trailer hitch thrown from car
Police in Thunder Bay, Ont., are investigating whether an alleged attack that debilitated a First Nations woman — when she was hit by a trailer hitch thrown from a passing car — was racially motivated, after reports of similar drive-by incidents targeting indigenous women.
The family of Barbara Kentner, 34, say doctors have told them she will likely die, with treatment options limited, after she was struck in the stomach by a large, metal trailer hitch on Jan. 29.
“This is pretty, pretty s----- this had to happen to me,” Kentner told APTN. “It could have happened to anybody. I wouldn’t wish it upon anybody or my worstest, worstest enemy.”
Melissa Kentner, Barbara’s sister, expressed anger at how her sister was treated, both during the incident and afterwards.
Thunder Bay police said two women were walking in the early hours in a residential area on the city’s south side when one was hit in the stomach by a trailer hitch thrown from a passing car. The hitch was seized as evidence.
An 18-year-old man later turned himself in and is charged with aggravated assault. Police said three teenaged males and one female were in the car at the time.
“The Thunder Bay Police Service acknowledges the impact this incident has on the community. The police are consulting with the Crown in order to evaluate if evidence gathered to date indicates if this assault can be designated as a hate-motivated incident,” the police service said in a written statement.
“Police are aware of the reporting by members of the aboriginal community that they have been victim to objects being thrown at them by person(s) in passing vehicles. The police are also very aware that many incidents go unreported. Police are encouraging anyone who is a victim of this type of incident to contact the police as soon as possible so a timely police response may be initiated.”
Anna Betty Achneepineskum, Deputy Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, representing First Nation members of Northern Ontario, said the alleged assault seems to be part of a growing pattern of disrespect and abuse of indigenous people.
“I find it very disturbing. I believe that it has escalated. Like, we’ve heard stories of people where we had pop and other things thrown at us,” Achneepineskum told CBC in Thunder Bay.
She said she has had eggs thrown at her and racial slurs yelled from passing cars. The apparent escalation to an object as dangerous as a metal trailer hitch is worrisome, she said.
“It does feel like a hate crime,” Achneepineskum said. “We have to do more in terms of dealing with racism and discrimination in this city.”
Kentner’s medical prognosis is not public information but her family says she was told there is little hope of recovery.
After the initial incident, Kentner was taken to hospital. The family said the trailer hitch ruptured her small intestine and required a five-hour surgery. After her release from hospital, her recovery was slow.
She was afraid to go out in public, Melissa said, but mustered herself to go out for lunch after the arrest. It did not go well and she returned to the hospital.
“This old lady comes by and kicks her frickin’ chair and the chair hit her side of the stomach and she started leaking fluid,” Melissa told APTN. “She sat in the emergency room for six frickin’ hours. She had to call 911 in order for them to take her into the back.”
Her sister said a doctor called a family meeting and told them Kentner’s future looks bleak.
“There’s nothing that they can do for her,” Melissa said in the APTN interview. “It’s too far gone. Like, her kidneys are too far gone for dialysis; her liver is too… ” she said, trailing off. She then added: “You have to be alcohol-free for six months for a transplant.”
Police are monitoring Barbara Kentner’s medical condition to see if it impacts the charge that has been laid.
“Investigators have been in contact with the victim and will be staying up to date regarding her medical condition,” said Const. Julie Tilbury, a Thunder Bay police spokeswoman.
While police said an investigation into possible racial factors is underway, any hate-crime charges must be approved by Ontario’s attorney general.
The Criminal Code has two sections on hate-crime charges, neither of which ideally applies to the known facts of this case, police said. Specifically, they deal with spreading hate propaganda and advocating genocide and public incitement of hatred or wilful promotion of hatred.
It is possible, however, if someone is found guilty in the incident, that any racial motivation could be a factor in sentencing.
A judge is to consider any relevant aggravating or mitigating circumstances, including any evidence that the offence was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or any other similar factor.
Brayden Bushby, 18, of Thunder Bay, has been charged with aggravated assault. He was released on bail with a court appearance set for next month.
After the incident, a community rally was held to support Kentner and raise awareness of the issues of race and discrimination in the city.