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U.S. NEWS Saturday 14 July 2018

Woman harassed for wearing

Puerto Rican shirt speaks out

By DON BABWIN Connor appeared to stand He also ordered him
Associated Press quietly several feet away. placed on electronic
CHICAGO (AP) — She said that “just en- home monitoring, to un-
A woman shown on a vid- couraged (Trybus) to be dergo alcohol assessment,
eo being confronted by more aggressive. So I was and prohibited him from
a man because she was scared.” having any contact with
wearing a t-shirt embla- Puerto Rican citizens auto- Irizarry or any witnesses in
zoned with the Puerto Ri- matically have U.S. citizen- the case or set foot on for- Mia Irizarry speaks at a news conference in Chicago, Friday,
can flag said Friday that ship. est preserve property. July 13, 2018, about an incident where a man confronted her
the only action a park offi- She said she remains “se- He is scheduled to return to about a T-shirt she wore emblazoned with the Puerto Rican flag
cer took to defuse the situ- verely disappointed” that court Aug. 1.q at a Chicago forest preserve on June 14.
ation was to tell her cousin Connor quit without pub- Associated Press
who’d stepped in to pro- licly explaining his decision
tect her to calm down. not to come to her aid.
Speaking at a news confer- “I will never get to hear
ence surrounded by lead- from this man, this protec-
ers of Chicago’s Puerto Ri- tor, his reasoning for why
can community, Mia Irizarry my safety, no, my life, had
recounted the June 14 inci- such little value to him,”
dent that received nation- she said, adding that she
al attention after release of grateful that he no longer
the video. has a job where he might
Hate crime charges have treat other like her.
been filed against 62-year- A Chicago alderman and
old Timothy Trybus, and a state senator of Puerto
Chicago forest preserve Rican descent said the fall-
officer Patrick Connor has out from the incident is not
resigned. over.
“It was extremely surreal to State Senator Omar Aqui-
think that someone whose no urged Irizarry to sue the
job is to protect and serve officer, reminding her that
could just completely walk he pushed through legisla-
away...” she said at a park tion that allows her to “sue
in a Chicago neighbor- someone for a hate crime.”
hood with a large Puerto Alderman Roberto Maldo-
Rican population, in her first nado, wearing a t-shirt with
public comments about a flag of Puerto Rico on it,
the incident. “If I hadn’t re- urged Chicago residents to
corded it I am pretty sure wear similar shirts on July 20
(the incident) would not to protest her treatment.
have ended with my safe- Trybus appeared in court
ty.” Friday on charges of a hate
Irizarry, who was in the Chi- crime, assault and disorder-
cago’s Caldwell Woods ly conduct.
Forest Preserve when she His attorney, David Gold-
was confronted by Trybus, man, characterized his
recounted the feeling of client’s behavior toward
helplessness she felt after Irizarry as “obnoxious,” but
Trybus asked if the flag on attributed it to a combina-
the shirt was that of Texas tion of alcohol and pain
and responded that it was pills after having six teeth
the flag of Puerto Rico. removed the day before.
Trybus scolded her, saying: The Cook County State’s
“You should not be wearing Attorney’s office said that
that in the United States of Judge Earl Hoffenberg or-
America,” and questioned dered Trybus released on
her about whether she was his promise to appear in
an American citizen. court.