Welcome to Trump’s America, where bigots can run over kids on the sidewalk.
The girl was walking to Indian Hills Junior High when a vehicle drove onto the sidewalk, ran over her and left the scene, the release said. Officials say the girl was able to return to school one week after the incident, according to CNN affiliate WOI-TV.
During her interview with detectives, Poole Franklin, a Des Moines resident, said she was the driver and intentionally struck the girl because she “was a Mexican,” police said. Poole Franklin then “made a series of derogatory statements about Latinos,” police said.
I’m glad the girl is physically OK now, but you have to wonder how safe she’s going to feel about using public sidewalks from now on.
There’s still one thorny question to resolve, a difficult problem that will require bringing in a Hercule Poirot to puzzle out.
Authorities are looking at whether Poole Franklin running the girl over was a hate crime, Clive Police Chief Michael G. Venema said during a news conference.
Oooh, that’s a difficult one.
Hercule Poirot would be foreigner with an accent. He, probably would need bodyguards.
but you have to wonder how safe she’s going to feel about using public sidewalks from now on.
Or to extend that, how safe are a lot of students going to feel? Or just about anyone who is not blond/e.
Poole Franklin, a Des Moines resident, said she was the driver and intentionally struck the girl because she “was a Mexican,”
“I’m from Iowa and I vote.”
Fuck America.
It takes good pedestrians with guns to protect pedestrians against horrible people in cars, apparently.
Fuck Iowa.
It’s a hard case to prove, what with her voluntary explanation that she willfully and intentionally drove up onto a sidewalk with the intent of running her over, “because she’s Mexican”.
After all, we have no evidence of intent, other than her sworn statement, happily volunteered after being Mirandized.
And her actions in a mini-mart was also not telling, less than 90 minutes after, dropping the N-bomb at customers, while demanding that the other minority customers pump her fuel for her, as well as the, per her witnessed and recorded words, the clerk, identified by her as a Sand N-bomb should pump her fuel, while she opened food packages and dumped them all over the store, throwing food containers at other customers and the clerk. Obviously, she was intentionally setting up a mental status defense, pretending to be an asshole.
Not realizing, we neither protect or treat people for being a willing asshole, but we will prosecute people for asshole behavior that causes property damage, injury to others or death.
Thanks, Trump!
@#4: I don’t think being an asshole is a psychiatric diagnosis, nor do I think she was merely pretending to be an asshole. However, she may well be mentally ill and I expect that’s why the police are being reticent about this. Likely the judge will order a psych eval.
I thought maybe they’re weighing the different types of charges to be levied against her, vs. hate crimes charges. Well, that’s the benefit of the doubt I was giving rather than them trying to think of ways to lighten her sentencing.
Whispers to self Don’t read the comments… Don’t read the comments… Don’t read the comments…
FUCKING HELL, WHY DID I READ THE COMMENTS?!?!?!
Apparently so that you could repost a small selection for us. Thanks, I guess.
@#2, Marcus Ranum:
Yes. And it’s clearly very important that Iowa be one of the first states to hold a Democratic primary to decide which candidates have enough support to continue their campaigns. And then a bunch of Southern red states which will never, ever go Democratic in the Electoral College, so that we can ensure that being the most popular candidate in a state the party will lose is an important criterion for selecting who goes on the ballot.
@ 3 Marces
OT
It takes good pedestrians with guns to protect pedestrians against horrible people in cars, apparently.
best argument for carrying guns I have heard outside of the Norwegian;n one about polar bears.
As a fairly dedicated cyclist I must assume that all car drivers are deaf, legally blind, and psychotic so shooting whenever a car comes within 20 metres seems like a good idea.
@8
Because you’re hoping against hope that it will be the comment thread that makes you not want to hate huge swaths of humanity?
I’ve pretty much abandoned that bit of idealism, these days.
I love the good cheer and good-will to everybody around Xmas.
Wait, this never existed? /s
Honestly, the next buddy movie should consist of the pre-redemption Grinch and Scrooge teaming up waving middle fingers to all the mundanes and screaming “We had it perfectly correct, you losers! Christmas cheer is for the people with money! Now give me my BB-gun so I can target people that don’t look like me!” [looks at watch … expects this in two years]
Robert @ 12
Fox news comments always approaches YouTube comments by O(1) values
Silly Professor, only brown people commit hate crimes. She’s clearly got mental health issues due to being too white. /s
That whole Economic Anxiety thing is waaaaaay more powerful than I’d ever imagined.
A dark part of me has always wondered if this was the same thought process s what went through the mind of the old white man from Texas who also drive onto the sidewalk and killed my cousin and a tourist from Italy while they were walking in Colorado.
My cousin was half Japanese and often mistaken for being Hispanic.
cervantes@6–
She’s already been charged with attempted murder. The police should have added the hate crime charges as her statement clearly and unequivocally states her motive as race hatred. If there is any doubt about her mental capacity, that will be the subject of a psychiatric evaluation that has no bearing whatsoever on the nature of the original charges.
I understand that the police have indicated they will raise the issue of hate crime with the prosecutors, and perhaps there is some particular procedural issue to Iowa, but I fail to see why the police would charge her with one crime, but need prosecutorial approval to add the hate crime. Especially as hate crime seems easier to prove than attempted murder given the quotes provided.
And I just recently read a news article that’s claiming she also ran over a young black boy earlier that day.
What is it with right-wing bigots using vehicles as weapons?
Iochaber@19, The only article I’ve found (keeping in mind there’s only minimum staffing at relevant news organisations at the moment) on that previous car-attack incident does not indicate anything at all about the young boy’s appearance. In addition, there was another incident (not involving a car) where a shop clerk and other customers were yelled at with a “racial epithets”, which is suggestive about how she sees some of those people. (Again, the article doesn’t say anything definite about the people’s appearance.) The article, Iowa woman accused in racist attack is charged in 2nd hit-and-run, does provide some insight into why the police have not charged the lady with a hate crime (for the incident in the OP):
Follow-up to @19/@20, The Daily Beast story does claim the young boy was black, Iowa Woman Who Said She Attacked Teen Because She Was ‘Mexican’ Also Struck Black 12-Year-Old, Police Say.