An April fight involving a black University of Iowa freshman outside an off-campus bar was not a hate crime, authorities in Iowa City said on Tuesday, and the student has admitted his account of the incident was “inconsistent” with police findings.
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Police and Johnson County attorney Janet Lyness presented their conclusions at a press conference this morning.
But after a two-week investigation, Iowa City police have concluded, after interviewing witnesses and viewing surveillance footage, that no hate crime occurred at all, and that Owens’ account of his injuries was nearly completely false.
‘It became clear at some point that the community, not Marcus, was the victim in this event and it was important to us to get the truth out there, ‘ said Capt. Troy Kelsay, .
Rather, the black student “was an active participant and even an instigator in three separate physical confrontations or assaults that happened at bar close”, Kelsey said. He claimed to have been assaulted by “multiple subjects while being called racial slurs”. Witnesses did report hearing one person use the n-word.
Owens then walked home but later reported to a hospital for treatment of facial injuries. All three incidents occurred hours after Owens said he was assaulted.
Lyness said Owens’ actions met the criteria for a criminal charge of filing a false police report, but he was not charged “so that we could release the information now”.
The surveillance footage will be made available to the public on Iowa City’s web page Tuesday.
Harreld said the case had been hard for the university.
“I hope that he learned a lesson from it”, Kelsay said of Owens. University President Bruce Harreld said the school would provide “support and assistance” to all involved.
The case of Marcus Owens caused a deluge of outrage when it first emerged in early May.
A bar employee removed Owens and stopped him when he tried to re-enter the premises.
“Upon learning more details of the case, and while racial slurs served to fuel the violence, Marcus now knows that his account of events was inconsistent with police findings”, a statement from Owens and his family reads, “in part due to alcohol being involved, his embarrassment at his behavior, as well as injuries he sustained”.
Footage shows Owens involved in another altercation at the intersection of Iowa Avenue and Linn Street at 1:41 a.m. on May 1.
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On Twitter, former Iowa University basketball player also Okey Ukah defended jumping to conclusions before the facts were known.
