Trace Riff arrested for allegedly kicking a one-year old Black child in the back, charged with misdemeanor.
An incident in which a reported White supremacist kicked a Black toddler in the back at a Wichita, Kansas, grocery store has his mother and thousands of people on Twitter in an uproar. According to an account in the Wichita Eagle, Trace Riff, 31, was only charged with misdemeanors in the attack that occurred on Dec. 23, just two days before Christmas.
(Some media accounts list his name as Riff Trace, but I believe his name is Trace Riff.)
The Grinch-like actions of the alleged suspect threw the unsuspecting family for a loop. Now they have questions and concerns.
The mother, Lashantai Whitaker, who is seven months pregnant, had just entered a Dillon’s grocery store. Right behind her were 11-year old daughter, who held the hand of one-year old Jhavii. That's when things went awry.
Whitaker heard a thud. Her daughter screamed that a man had kicked her brother.
The man kicked her son from behind with his cowboy boot, causing the boy to fall face down, she said.
The man tried to leave the store but bystanders tackled him and held him until police arrived, she recalled.
According to Whitaker, the man yelled out the N word and said he was white supremacist.
Riff was arrested and booked. Incredibly, his charges don’t seem to match the alleged crime.
A Wichita police report says the incident was classified as a case of “battery” and “resist” where the man was suspected of using alcohol. A “personal weapon,” which would include a boot, was involved, the report said.
Riff was arrested and booked into the Sedgwick County jail on Sunday on suspicion of ethnic intimidation, battery and resisting police, an arrest report says.
Those charges are considered misdemeanors. There is no mention of a hate crime. The suspect was released the afternoon of the attack on a $3,500 bond.
To compound matters, Riff has a history of mental issues and a criminal history. He is on probation for felony meth charges in Oklahoma. He reportedly had some type of encounter with Wichita police a couple of days before the attack on Jhavii. For him to only face misdemeanors in an attack on a toddler is cause for concern. How is an attack on a defenseless toddler by a random stranger a misdemeanor? Then adding the racial slur is like striking a match near gasoline.
Because Riff is facing misdemeanor charges, the case will be handled by Wichita Municipal Court, not the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, DA spokesman Dan Dillon said Thursday.
In a statement Thursday afternoon, the Police Department said it “is investigating a racially motivated bias crime where (Riff) was arrested. . . . Through the investigation it was learned (Riff) walked into the . . . store and kicked a 1-year-old victim in the back causing the child to fall on the floor while yelling obscenities and racial slurs. (Riff) was booked for battery that was bias and racially motivated, as well as resist arrest.”
The matter has caught attention on Twitter, and other media outlets are picking up the story. An account by one Twitter user, Simar, was shared more than 10,000 times and counting.
Simar shares my concerns about this incident. It is outrageous that a mother and her children can’t go to a grocery store in peace. This happened two days before Christmas, just after 7 a.m. People are preparing for holiday events, dinners and time with family.
I know mental illness is real, and I hope this man gets help. But there should be more stringent consequences for this attack on Jhavii and his family. They fear with him released from jail he will do this again to another family. I don’t blame them. Drumpf has created an atmosphere were people are emboldened to strike out at others, especially people of color. The racial climate in this country is off the charts. Attacks against people of color continue, and at some point Black and Brown people will retaliate.
We must seek some solutions, and soon. But first, we must get justice for Jhavii.
