Man charged in hate-motivated incident in Coral Springs

Calgary police cruisers can be seen in this undated file photo. (File)

A Calgary man is facing charges in connection with what police are calling a hate-motivated incident.

At 4 p.m. on March 6, police say a man was driving his work van in Coral Springs when an SUV pulled up behind him at a stop sign in the 5000 block of Falsbridge Gate N.E.

"The driver of the SUV began honking and followed the man into a nearby parking lot. As the man stopped his vehicle, the other driver began swearing and shouting racial slurs while throwing garbage at the victim who remained inside his parked vehicle," police said in a news release.

The confrontation continued with the suspect getting out of his vehicle and approaching the victim, kicking and punching his vehicle as he went.

Police said the victim and another occupant of the van remained inside while the man punched the driver's window because "they believed (it) was an attempt to gain access to the victim."

The passenger recorded the incident with their phone. The suspect eventually returned to his vehicle while continuing to use racial slurs toward them.

The video captured the licence plate of the SUV, which police used to arrest a 39-year-old Calgarian.

Christopher Whitney Macpherson is charged with one count of assault and one count of mischief but police say both charges are deemed hate-motivated, which is an aggravating factor if the accused is found guilty.

He was also arrested on an outstanding warrant for mischief, which was linked to another hate-motivated crime.

"Being attacked at random, based solely on the colour of your skin, is absolutely unacceptable and we are committed to ensuring there is no place for hate in Calgary," said acting Sgt. Matt Messenger with the Calgary Police Service.

Macpherson is expected in court on April 3.