Alsip Woman Charged In Hate Crime Apologizes; Victim Wants Charges To Stick
(CBS) -- A woman from South Suburban Alsip is charged with a hate crime that hundreds of thousands have now watched on social media.
And as CBS 2's Charlie De Mar reports, today that woman, Jessica Sanders, explained why she reacted the way she did. The man on the receiving end says he pulled out his phone and started recording because he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
At margarita fest back in July, both say the confrontation started over whose turn it was to play the game "Bags" or "Corn Hole." The argument quickly escalated.
Ernest Crim, the man who recorded the altercation says, "As soon as I pressed record, she slapped [the phone] out of my hand."
Sanders can be seen spitting. Crim says his wife, who was standing nearby, was hit.
"To think that someone would think that low of you that they would spit on you," he said.
In a radio interview, Sanders says to her, the N-word means "ignorant."
"Caucasian, Asian, purple, pink. It doesn't matter what color you are. If you're being ignorant. You are being ignorant," Sanders contends. "I don't understand how this got so blown out of proportion that it needed to get this far."
"Nonsense," Crim claims. "She's just trying to protect herself like anyone would."
Now, Sanders is facing battery and hate crime charges.
In a radio interview, she says, "Even before I was charged with any hate crime or anything I'm being charged with, I would have given him an apology it was wrong of me to use that word."
In response, Crim says, "I have no desire to talk to her or meet her in person."
Crim, a high school history teacher used the video in his class as a teaching tool, showing it to his students. He's not looking for an apology, rather, he's hoping for those charges to stick.