SUNY Albany students who claimed racial attack on bus could face charges
BY Jason Silverstein
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Thursday, February 25, 2016, 11:14 AM
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/albany-students-claimed-racial-attack-charged-article-1.2543435 Three SUNY Albany students who claimed they were victims of a racially motivated attack on a city bus might face charges themselves after surveillance footage apparently debunked their story, according to News10.
The students were issued tickets to appear in court next Monday on unspecified charges connection to the alleged assault from Jan. 30, the Times-Union reported.
The impending charges reportedly stem from surveillance footage from the bus, which disproves the students’ claims of a racially motivated attack. The three students, who are all black women, initially said up to a dozen white classmates spewed racial insults and ganged up on them.
3 BLACK ALBANY STUDENTS CLAIM BUS ASSAULT WAS HATE CRIME
Cell phone footage published earlier this month showed an obscured view of the attack. Surveillance footage reportedly disproves the initial claims about the attack. TimesUnion
Cell phone footage published earlier this month showed an obscured view of the attack. Surveillance footage reportedly disproves the initial claims about the attack.
But the video, which has not been released to the public, shows one of the alleged victims throwing the first punch, as well as one alleged victim using a slur against a white passenger, according to News10. The station added the footage shows no evidence of racism directed at the students.
Police said no arrests have been made.
The Times-Union in early February published a short, obscured cellphone video of the alleged beatings, but the footage gave no clear idea of what happened on the bus. The video appeared to show two women fighting as the crowd around them tried to break up them up.
The Albany County District Attorney's Office and SUNY Albany declined to comment on the upcoming charges. The school also would not say if the accusers are still enrolled.
Two of the alleged victims have not been identified. The third, junior Asha Burwell, did not return calls from the Daily News.
Burwell actively tweeted about the incident when the news broke, but has not written anything since Feb. 11, when she posted: "Please don't confuse my silence with defeat. I'm still fighting this, like I said I will not give up. The truth will come out soon."
The alleged assault led to a rally on campus and became national news, with supporters using the hashtag #DefendBlackGirlsUAlbany to show solidarity. Hillary Clinton tweeted about the news, writing, “There’s no excuse for racism and violence on a college campus.”
