In Olathe, a mother is speaking out after her teenage son became the target of what she believes was a hate crime. While the family was away on vacation, a friend who was watching over their home discovered a disturbing sight—a road sign attached to the teenager’s car, covered with offensive slurs and symbols.
“I immediately called the police, and made a report,” Tiffany Abatti, the boy’s mother, shared. But after waiting, she was told the next day that it wouldn’t be treated as a hate crime because authorities couldn’t prove it was racially motivated.
Anna Cooling, the local district attorney, explained that the incident didn’t meet the legal requirements for a hate crime. Under Colorado law, the facts didn’t align with the criteria needed to classify it as such.
But Abatti, whose son has been harassed before—including having eggs thrown at his car and being bullied at work—wants to see stronger action taken. She’s calling for the vandals to be charged with a hate crime and for the police to show that this behavior has been escalating.
Abatti also wants to raise awareness about the difficulties faced by minorities in smaller communities, where she believes incidents like this go unchecked. “I feel like in smaller communities, minorities often don’t get a fair chance, and people’s harmful actions go without consequences,” she said.
According to Colorado law, for something to be labeled a “bias-motivated crime” (also called a hate crime), it needs to be shown that the offense was committed with the intent to harass or intimidate someone because of their race, religion, disability, or other protected traits. This could include causing harm, threatening someone, or damaging their property with such intent.
Abatti is hopeful that speaking out will help shine a light on this issue and prevent it from happening to others.
