So no charges against the kid for the false report. This had potential to ruin someone's life.
Apparently not. For the record, I think he should be charged as well, but the only facts I know about the case are what I've read in the paper:
A University of Iowa student who falsely reported being the victim of a hate crime two weeks ago will not face charges, officials said Tuesday.
"If we were going to charge him, we could charge a variety of other people with disorderly conduct or different things (concerning this incident). And it seemed more important to the community to get the information out on what had happened," Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness said.
UI freshman
Marcus Owens, who is black, reported being assaulted on the night of April 30 by three white men shouting racial slurs. An Iowa City Police Department investigation found that Owens was involved in a series of altercations that did not completely match the account he gave police, and officials determined the incident
did not meet the criteria for a hate crime.
"Marcus was not the victim of an assault," Iowa City Police Capt. Troy Kelsay said. "Marcus was an active participant and even an instigator in three separate physical confrontations or assaults that occurred at bar close. During at least one of those he suffered injuries. That is unfortunate, but when you go looking for multiple fights, that is going to happen."
A photo provided by Marcus Owens' family shows the University of Iowa student's injuries after he was attacked off-campus on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Photo: Special to the Register)
The Owens family
issued an apology letter Monday night, acknowledging that there were substantial differences between Marcus Owens' account and the police investigation.
“I want to extend my gratitude to the family for doing the right thing,” said Lt. Mike Brotherton, who is in charge of investigations. “Because they did issue that apology letter. I think it was very necessary and critical for the community.”
The Iowa City Police Department and Johnson County Attorney's Office held a news conference at City Hall on Tuesday morning to present a timeline of events and surveillance video that captured the incident.
"We very quickly learned through video evidence that the events as reported by Marcus just did not happen. Marcus was not even present yet at the bar at the time he reported he was assaulted, and video evidence from outside the bar and along the street nearby showed that these events actually occurred at or near bar close when Marcus came out of the bar," Kelsay said.
WATCH:See the surveillance videos from the incident
Surveillance
video shown at the news conference revealed three separate fights involving Owens between 1:30 and 1:45 a.m. on May 1, including a large brawl outside Eden Lounge on the 200 block of Iowa Avenue. All three incidents occurred hours after Owens said he was assaulted. Someone did use the N-word, as Owens reported, which led to the second altercation, Kelsay said.
When Owens, 19, went to UI Hospitals and Clinics for treatment about 4:30 a.m. on May 1 — nearly three hours after the fights occurred — his blood alcohol content was .116 percent, Kelsay said.
Police also sought assistance from the FBI, which declined to investigate the incident as a hate crime after reviewing the evidence, Kelsay said.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
Lyness and Kelsay said officials took seriously the report of a hate crime and acknowledged it as a divisive issue. Describing the community as the victim in this case, Lyness said it was more important to ease people's fears than to charge Owens with making a false report.
"If we charged him, we could be having trial in the fall sometime and delay it. And it seemed much more important to be able to get the information out so that people aren’t afraid of being downtown or (afraid) that there were three white men who were going to attack people randomly because of racial things," Lyness said.
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Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness discusses facts surrounding Marcus Owens' reported assault during a news conference at City Hall on Tuesday, May 17, 2016. (Photo: David Scrivner / Iowa City Press-Citizen)
After the incident, Owens hired Iowa City lawyer Leon Spies, Kelsay said, and all communication between the department and Owens' family was conducted through Spies.
Police praised witnesses, including friends of Owens, for coming forward to tell their stories so officials could learn the truth. Kelsay mentioned that the community response to the incident and outrage at the idea that a hate crime could have occurred made some people afraid to come forward with a different story.
"The first liar is the one that’s believed, and that was Marcus in this case," he said.
The ICPD and city of Iowa City will not seek restitution for their efforts in investigating the case, Kelsay said, citing a reluctance to get involved in a civil suit.
"I hope that he learned a lesson from it," Kelsay said of Owens. "But it was more important to get the truth out to the community, and that is a function of the Iowa City Police Department, so no we are not going to be counting pennies or getting any sort of restitution."
http://www.press-citizen.com/story/...ace-charges-false-hate-crime-report/84483380/
