By Brad Dress
For The Diamondback
University of Maryland Police responded to a student-reported hate bias incident at the Leonardtown Community in early March, according to police reports.
On March 8 at 5:45 p.m., a black female student reported that she heard someone yell a racial slur somewhere behind her when she was getting into her car in front of the campus housing complex, police spokeswoman Sgt. Rosanne Hoaas said. When the student turned around, she saw someone in a silver vehicle driving in the area, Hoaas said.
Police responded at about 7:35 p.m., Hoaas said. Police later reviewed nearby video cameras, but no new information arose until March 12, when a detective saw a similar silver vehicle in front of the establishment, which is located on the 5200 block of Campus Drive, Hoaas said.
The detective entered the establishment, aiming to find the driver and ask him about the March 8 incident, Hoaas said. A man — who has no affiliation with this university — admitted he was driving the vehicle when the incident occurred but said a passenger had yelled the slur, Hoaas added.
The man refused to provide information about the passenger, and the detective contacted the owner of the man’s car, who complied, Hoaas said. On March 16, police interviewed the male passenger and issued him a denial of access to the campus.
This comes after a separate hate bias incident on March 2, in which a student reported to police that someone wrote anti-black racial slurs on a dry erase board in Cumberland Hall, police said.
