IC man faces hate crime charges after allegedly assaulting black man with metal bar while yelling racial slurs

Lang
6/29/19

An Iowa City man faces hate crime charges after allegedly beating a black man with a metal bar while yelling racial slurs.

The alleged incident happened just after 6:30pm on June 15th. Iowa City Police say 46-year-old Darrell Abbott interjected himself into a conversation on the 1800 block of Boyrum Street and told a black male, “I’m a killer”, “I’m gonna show you I’m a killer”, and “I’ll kill you” followed by a racial slur.

Abbott then returned to his nearby Keokuk Street apartment, where his mother reported hearing him say, “I’m going to kill myself a <racial expletive>.”

Surveillance video shows Abbott then returning to the scene with a large metal bar and using it to assault the target of his alleged racial slurs. Before the alleged assault began, witnesses told police they heard Abbott again refer to the man using a racial slur followed by “I’m gonna kill you.”

Abbott was booked into the Johnson County Jail just before 10am Friday and charged with Assault While Displaying a Dangerous Weapon in Violation of Individual Rights and Assault With Intent to Inflict Serious Injury in Violation of Individual Rights. If convicted of both charges, Abbott faces a maximum of ten years in prison.