CANTON (WWJ) – The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office has declined to file charges in an alleged case of racially based hate at Plymouth-Canton High School, due to a lack of cooperation from witnesses.
A community forum was scheduled at Discovery Middle School Wednesday night to address students’ and parents’ concerns over multiple incidents in recent weeks.
The prosecutor’s office says an 18-year-old student at the high school used his phone to film and post a video in which he used derogatory terms for Black people in early March.
Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in the video the teen stated that he hated Blacks and threatened to kill them by hanging, stomping or shooting them.
Canton police were notified of the incident on March 4 and the student’s parent was called to the school, where they were told the suspect was “excluded from the school, according to Worthy’s office.
A warrant package was submitted to Worthy’s office a week after the incident, and officials contacted the witnesses that received the threats.
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But Worthy says they refused to cooperate, resulting in the denial of the warrant for insufficient evidence. She says the witnesses were necessary to present evidence to prosecute the case in court.
“It is an understatement to say that the alleged statements made by the suspect are hateful and disturbing,” Worthy said in a statement released Wednesday. “In this case the witnesses refused to cooperate with the prosecution. Unfortunately, we could not go forward, and the case was denied.”
She encouraged the witnesses to contact the police if they change their minds.
