Montgomery County Man Says Walk Through Apartment Complex Ended With Being Victim Of Racist, Physical Attack
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) -- A suburban man's afternoon walk through his apartment complex turned violent. The attack, he says, was more than just physical; he says he was a victim of a racist attack as well.
A simple stroll through a King Of Prussia neighborhood took a swift turn last Monday evening.
"You want to get knocked out? Come here, you want to get knocked out, huh?" a person on cellphone video said.
The cellphone video captured by resident Farrukh Abbas Hashmi shows the explosive reaction by a neighbor after Hashmi says he asked him to put his dog on a leash.
"First he was using f-words, making racial remarks, he then he physically attacked me," Hashmi said.
He says he was hit with two closed fists in the chest, and he did not sustain serious injury aside from the impact of the racist remarks.
As a Muslim, the words hit hardest.
"If somebody reaches you with such anger and hatred, you can not only see it you can feel the hatred," Hashmi said.
He not only called Upper Merion Township police, but he also called the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR.
"This time the wheels of justice turned rather quickly," said Jacob Bender, Philadelphia CAIR's executive director.
Charges including, ethnic intimidation, harassment and disorderly conduct have now been brought against the man in the video, identified by police as William Butler.
"I had always believed in the judicial system. I always have had the belief that the law would take its due course," said.
Hashmi hopes his story helps others understand that such treatment isn't just hurtful, it's often criminal.
Butler has also been charged with a municipal ordinance violation that relates to his dog being off the leash
