Racial slur hurled at cyclist sheds light on difficult legalities of hate crimes, says researcher

The case of an Edmonton cyclist who endured a racial slur for riding on the road has highlighted a gap in the way the city deals with hate crimes, according to a local researcher.

Bashir Mohamed's story went viral after he recorded an altercation with a couple in a truck on Friday afternoon. The people in the truck shouted at him to get off the road, and called him a "f---ing n----r."

The incident sparked outrage, including from Mayor Don Iveson, who called the actions of the people in the truck "unacceptable racism."

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Mohamed called police right away and met with investigators in the police hate crimes unit on Tuesday, but left disappointed.

"It turns out that anybody can call me a n----r on the street, and nothing can be done about it legally," Mohamed said.

Warning, explicit language

But using a racial slur isn't considered a crime under the Criminal Code. That's something Mohamed said he thinks many people would be surprised to learn.

Many incidents reported to the police hate crimes unit aren't considered crimes, according to Irfan Chaudhry, a criminology instructor at MacEwan University who has studied hate crimes in Edmonton.

Chaudhry said actual hate crimes include Criminal Code offences such as assault that are racially motivated, disseminating hateful written propaganda and desecrating religious institutions.

But even crimes motivated by racial hatred are rarely prosecuted that way because they're so difficult to prove, he said.

'If we can't report this to police ... what can we do?'

Other hate incidents, such as using racial slurs and other forms of discrimination, are not considered criminal.

Chaudhry said Mohamed's experience has brought the issue of hate incidents to the forefront, as the city grapples with a way to handle cases of non-criminal discrimination.

"If we can't report this to police, and it's not a crime, what can we do?" he said.

Chaudry said he asked himself that question two years ago when he had a similar experience on the University of Alberta campus.

He made eye contact with a man on the street, who asked what he was looking at.

"And then he called me the N-bomb," he said. "I remember my first response … I called campus security."

He said turning to police for protection and not getting it can make someone feel even more violated. It's an issue that needs to be addressed by higher levels of government, he said.

Situation 'extremely frustrating' for police

According to Chaudhry's research, more than 400 hate-related incidents were reported to police between 2010 and 2014. 

Const. Trevor Shelrud with Edmonton's hate crimes unit said it's "extremely frustrating" that he can't do more for people who report non-criminal discrimination.

"Racism and discrimination almost amounts to social terrorism," Shelrud said.

He said racial slurs and other incidents can make people feel afraid and like they don't belong in their city.

Racism and discrimination almost amounts to social terrorism.- Const. Trevor Shelrud, Edmonton police hate crimes unit

"It affects not just the individual who was targeted, but also the entire community to which they belong," Shelrud said. "That's just wrong."

He said the vast majority of racism and discrimination in Canada is not reported, likely because there's little police can do.

Reporting still important 

He said his unit does what it can when confronted with those situations, including mediating between the parties involved.

Shelrud and Chaudhry said it's still important to report incidents of racial and religious discrimination, including racial slurs, because it helps to measure trends.

Edmonton police keep statistics on hate incidents to help them identify potential threats and hot spots. It lets the service know where it can deploy its Equity, Diversity and Human Rights division to help educate people about the impacts of discrimination.

Chaudhry said since officials can't do much to combat individual cases of non-criminal racism like the one Mohamed experienced, it's up to the public to step up.

"We all have to start being advocates," he said. "We all have to start being allies against all the different types of 'isms' people face discrimination over."