JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville activists are speaking out about a violent attack at a gas station in Arlington. We showed you the video of the attack Thursday, and we want to warn you if you haven’t seen it, it may be hard to watch.
You can see a white man hitting a Black woman in what’s being called a racial attack. On Friday, News4JAX obtained the incident report explaining what happened moments earlier. Meantime, the man has not been arrested and many people want to know why.
The woman in the video posted on social media a photo of a man she believes is the one who attacked her, but we aren’t showing his face or saying his name because police haven’t confirmed it.
The brutal attack happened five days ago. The man punched the 23-year-old woman 10 times then walked away. The woman in the video, Rayme McCoy, was left bruised and scarred.
McCoy says the man used racist language before attacking her. The incident report reads that the man was heard making racist remarks about someone outside the store and when he came in to buy beer, McCoy told him he was standing too close to her and that’s when he started the attack.
“Why hasn’t this man been arrested,” Ben Frazier, President of the Northside Coalition asked Friday. Several organizations participated in a news conference to talk about this incident, and to ask police to drop the charges against Diamonds Ford and Anthony Gannt.
Ford is accused of shooting an officer during a high-risk warrant but she says she didn’t know it was police and thought it was a robber. Executive Director of Dignity Power, Tray Johns, says both cases are examples of a larger issue.
“When George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were killed we saw people on the streets by the thousands,” Johns said. “But because Diamonds Ford and this young lady at the BP gas station, they’re still alive some people don’t think they need protection. That BP needs to be shut down, it needs to be circled with Black people all day until there is no business and no gas being pumped there. Regardless, we need to protect our own.”
In the police report – the officer wrote there is probable cause for the suspect’s arrest, and that the officer will attempt to make contact with the suspect at a later date. If they can’t, they will get a warrant.
McCoy says as of Friday she hasn’t heard from the police. She posted a photo of a man to her Instagram saying this is who she believes attacked her – however, police haven’t confirmed that with us yet.
The New Black Panther Party for Self Defense issued this statement Friday:
It reads in part “We call on the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to immediately locate and arrest this perpetrator. This attack was unjustified to say the least. Black people are increasingly under attack and we must send a strong statement.”
The New Black Panther Party says they plan to hold a news conference Sunday at the BP gas station.
Meanwhile, activists question the silence from police – and hope both cases receive justice.