A New Orleans man this week became the first person believed to be charged with a hate crime against police officers under Louisiana’s newly-enacted “Blue Lives Matter” law, but now authorities say the charge may not stand.
Raul Delatoba was arrested early on Labor Day morning for allegedly breaking a window at the Royal Sonesta Hotel. Delatoba, whose address was listed as a homeless shelter and who was intoxicated at the time of his arrest, subsequently shouted slurs at two police officers at the police station where he was held, according to NOLA.com.
Delatoba allegedly called one officer a “dumb a– c—” and another a “dumb a– n—–.” He was charged with property damage, disturbing the peace, and with a felony hate crime for verbally abusing uniformed officers of the New Orleans Police Department.
“The hate crime charge stems from Delatoba’s attack on individuals based on their race, sex, and occupation,” arrest documents obtained by NOLA.com read.
Yet local TV station WWL reported Thursday that the hate crime charge may be dropped.
“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,” New Orleans Police Department Communications Director Tyler Gamble told WWL. “The District Attorney’s Office will make the final determination on charges in this investigation, as it does in all investigations.”
This was the first time that Louisiana’s first-in-the-country “Blue Lives Matter” law, which Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) signed in May, has been used to charge a person with a hate crime against police officers.
Under the state’s updated hate crime statute, it is illegal to commit “underlying offenses” against victims because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, nationality, age, or because of their “actual or perceived employment as a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or emergency medical services personnel.”
A hate crime charge can add five years in prison and a $5,000 fine to sentences for felony convictions, and six months in jail and a $500 fine to sentences for misdemeanors.
