Enfield police have filed charges against a man who is accused of yelling racial slurs at an Enfield High School football player and threatening to shoot him as he was out selling discount cards for the team’s annual fundraiser in August.
Enfield police have filed charges against a man who is accused of yelling racial slurs at an Enfield High School football player and threatening to shoot him as he was out selling discount cards for the team’s annual fundraiser in August.
Christopher Oliver, 22, of Enfield, has been charged with intimidation based on bigotry or bias in the second degree and breach of peace.
Police said they were responding to the street after receiving a report that three young males were walking around the neighborhood and a small red car was following them.
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As officers were on the way, dispatchers said someone at a home on the street had threatened to shoot one of the youths, the warrant states.
The teen’s older brother was in the car that was following the football players and he told police that he heard shouting coming from a window in the home when his brother approached a truck in the driveway and his brother walked away from the driveway with his hands up and said, “Let’s go, he’s yelling at me that he’s going to shoot me,” according to the arrest warrant.
In August, Enfield police said they investigated and one of the residents admitted to uttering a racial slur. However, authorities said, the teen and the resident had different accounts of whether any threatening statement was made.
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Kelly Jackson, the victim’s mother, felt frustrated saying the arrest should have happened much earlier.
“I’m happy that he got charged, but I’m ticked I had to do all this work to get justice for my son," Jackson said.
She said her son feels more at peace with the arrest.
“Like he says to me, 'Mom, it’s not the first time and it’s not going to be the last,' but this is why I do what I do because I want change," she said.
Jackson said she believes civilian oversight of police could have made this process better.
“People need to be held accountable for what they do and now the police need to be held accountable because they messed up on this one," she said.
The incident led the town to host a community conversation on race, diversity and equity.
On Oct. 15, the victim’s mother contacted police. She had watched the police body camera footage several times, found that the suspect had threatened to shoot her son, said she wanted to file charges and asked for the case to be reopened, according to the warrant.
Police reviewed the body camera footage and the suspect when he was asked if he threatening to shoot the victim initially said “I don’t even own a gun.” When asked again if he said it, he said, “No, I did say it, but I don’t own any guns,” according to the arrest warrant application.
On Oct. 21, police again spoke with the teen and his mother and he said a woman at the house yelled, asked what he was doing and told him to get off the property.
He said he tried to explain that he was selling cards when he saw and heard Oliver yell from a window that he was going to shoot him if he did not get off the property, according to the arrest warrant application.
The teen was scared and immediately put his hands up, walked to his brother’s car and told his brother that the man had threatened to shoot him, the arrest warrant application says.
The teen also said Oliver yelled several racial slurs until he got off the property.
Police said they arrested Oliver on Thursday.
