The first person has reportedly been arrested under Louisiana’s “Blue Lives Matter” law after yelling racial slurs at two officers.
Raul Delatoba faces a felony hate crime charge under the state’s “Blue Lives Matter” law, reports the New York Daily News. Delatoba was accused of breaking a window at the Royal Sonesta Hotel Monday, he called a female officer a “dumb a*s c**t” and the accompanying black officer a “dumb a**s n****r.”
Delatoba also faces charges for disturbing the peace and damaging property.
A warrant for Delatoba’s arrest reveals that a sergeant told a New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officer to charge Delatoba with a hate crime.
“The hate crime charge stems from Delatoba’s attack on individuals based on their race, sex, and occupation,” the warrant stated.
Gov. John Bel Edwards signed the bill into law in May, which made attacks on law enforcement officer, firefighters and emergency medical service personnel hate crimes.
Magistrate Judge Harry Cantrell placed Delatoba’s bond at $15,000 Tuesday. Cantrell charged $10,000 for the hate crime charge and $2,500 for each of Delatoba’s disturbing the peace and property damage charges.
It remains unclear if the hate crime charges will stick, based on a statement released Thursday by the NOPD spokesman. The NOPD spokesman said the responding officer incorrectly applied the hate crime law.
“After reviewing the initial facts of the case, it is clear that the responding officer incorrectly applied the law relative to a hate crime in this incident. In the meantime, we are in the process of training all officers and supervisors on the updated law to ensure it is applied properly moving forward,” Tyler Gamble, the spokesman, said.
The final decision for the charges rests with the District Attorney’s Office, the statement said.
Send tips to amber@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.