O'FALLON, Mo. — A man is facing a fourth-degree assault charge after police said he assaulted a caregiver who was walking down the street with the man she cared for in O’Fallon.
According to a police report, on July 2, police responded to the 2100 block of Brassel Court for an assault. Police said once on scene, they determined the suspect, Lawrence Gamache, smacked a woman on the face.
That woman has been identified as Rashyra Jordan. She spoke to 5 On Your Side's Jasmine Payoute.
Gamache approached Jordan and began yelling at her and while doing so, he called her a ‘Black b----’ and then smacked her on the face, according to the police report.
“I know I heard about it in school about everything back in the day but I never thought ever this would happen to me.”
Gamache admitted he saw Jordan walking down the street with an elderly man, in which she is the caregiver for. He told police she was on the phone and didn’t believe she was giving the elderly man proper attention and because of this, he walked from his yard and confronted her.
“I was scared, nervous, that never happened to me before. So I was shocked,” Jordan said. “Next thing you know he smacked me, pulled me by my neck, I pushed him off me, he went home, me and my client tried to go back to the house.”
Gamache told police that Jordan slapped him, but police said there were no visible marks on him.
He was arrested and charged with fourth-degree assault through the O’Fallon Municipal Court, according to the police report. He posted cash bond and was later released.
A spokesperson for the police department the mayhem didn't stop when police arrived at the scene. Officers said the racial slurs continued.
Police department spokesperson Anthony Michalka said officers that were on scene indicated that when they were there, Gamache used the N-word in the direction of Jordan and also continued to call her a Black b----.
"He explained to our officers that he could say what he wants to say and that police couldn’t tell him what he couldn’t say,” Michalka said.
Jordan wants to know why hate crime charges were not filed in the case, and has hired an attorney.
“Something needs to be done, I'm only 20 years old, that never happened to me before, I know it’s a lot of racial stuff going on, but he could’ve went another way about it instead of what he did,” she said.
A spokesperson from the police department said:
“Had the assault been motivated solely because of the victim's race then that’s a hate crime outside of that it's just an assault,” said officer Michalka. “Yes the public may want a higher charge but if that cant be proven in court then he would be acquitted.”
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