Assault on Jewish community member escalated from road rage, Lexington police say
The alleged assault on Saturday of a Jewish community member in Lexington began as a complaint about a car blocking the street, police said.
The attack happened while people were gathered outside the University of Kentucky’s Jewish Student Center for a menorah lighting on the third day of Chanukah, according to the Chabad of the Bluegrass. UK’s Jewish Student Center is a project of Chabad of the Bluegrass. Chabad of the Bluegrass runs Jewish programs across Central Kentucky.
Someone in a car pulled up to the student center and yelled “abusive language,” according to Chabad . A community member assisting at the menorah lighting stepped between the driver and the student center, at which point the assault allegedly occurred.
“The attacker grabbed the man and held his arm, dragging him for a block, and running over his leg,” Chabad of the Bluegrass wrote in a Facebook post. “The car then sped off.”
Elected leaders including Rep. Andy Barr, Gov. Andy Beshear and Attorney General Daniel Cameron took to social media to condemn the attack, calling it “sickening and despicable” and “an outrage.”
Lexington police have been investigating the incident by speaking with the victim and witnesses and reviewing video that captured the incident. Police said Thursday they’re close to identifying a suspect.
That suspect will likely face a charge of second-degree assault once they’re detained, police spokeswoman Brenna Angel said.
Lexington police determine initial cause of the altercation
Lexington police said the investigation has determined the incident didn’t begin over antisemitism and that it was “more of a road rage incident that escalated.”
“The altercation occurred when the suspect/driver became upset about a car blocking the roadway in front of the Chabad house,” Angel said. “This led to an altercation between the victim and suspect, during which the suspect said an anti-Semitic slur.
“While the suspect’s words were reprehensible, it does not appear that the assault itself was prompted by bias against the victim.”
Angel said the initial cause of the altercation has not in any way impacted the way police investigate it.
“An assault still occurred,” she said.
A judge may decide if the assault was a hate crime
Police won’t determine whether or not the alleged assault was a “hate crime.” That decision will be up to a judge if the suspect is convicted of assault, according to state law.
Kentucky Revised Statute 532.031 states that a judge can determine if “a hate crime was a primary factor in the commission of the crime by the defendant” once a case reaches sentencing. If judges determine an offense was a hate crime, they can deny the suspect probation, shock probation, conditional discharge and other forms of release.
Hate crime rulings can also be used by a parole board to delay or deny parole to a defendant.
A hate crime in Kentucky isn’t a chargeable offense but rather a way to enhance the penalties of an offense. The state’s hate crime laws were called “archaic” by Rabbi Shlomo Litvin, who is the director of the UK Student Jewish Center where the incident occurred.
Litvin said the alleged use of anti-Semitic language makes him think religious affiliation had to have been a factor in the assault.
“Regardless of what brought on this crime, the anti-Semitic slurs that were used during this reminds us that this is the third antisemitic incident to occur in a little over a month,” Litvin said.
During the week of Nov. 19, Lexington residents found fliers filled with racist and antisemitic language spread around the city. The fliers advertised a group of white supremacists. The sign and menorah outside the UK Jewish Student Center were also damaged in early November, Litvin said.
Litvin said he spoke with Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers Wednesday and has “100 percent confidence in the Lexington Police Department” to properly investigate the incident.
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 2:32 PM.