Cops say student attacked because of color

The alleged hate crime attack on a Lewis and Clark High School student came after his attacker said, “I want to beat up one of these white boys,” according to the affidavit of probable cause filed by Spokane police.

Tyson Leroy Brown, 21, of Spokane was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of malicious harassment, a Class C felony hate crime. Brown also had an unrelated warrant from Oregon, according to a Spokane police news release.

The 15-year-old victim was intentionally and maliciously assaulted due to his race, according to the affidavit obtained Friday.

The victim is white, and the alleged attacker is black.

Brown is accused of walking up to the student and knocking him unconscious with a punch to the head, then kicking the student as he was on the ground. The attack occurred Wednesday during a lunch break across the street from Lewis and Clark. The victim was treated and released at a hospital.

Brown was arrested a few blocks away. While he was being taken to jail, a police officer said Brown called himself a “racist,” according to the affidavit. He added, “I should have kicked him until he’d never get up … I’m a racist, and I hate all you white boys.”

Charlotte Beavers, Brown’s aunt, was shocked to hear the racist language her nephew allegedly spoke.

“Oh my God. That’s crazy. He had to be drinking or something. That’s not him,” she said Friday.

Beavers, who moved to Spokane three years ago from Blythe, Calif., said Brown is developmentally disabled.

“He’s a really good kid. His mom passed away when he was younger,” Beavers said. “I raised him to the best of my ability. He’s got mental problems. Every time he does something they just stick him in jail. He comes out worse than when he went in.”

She’s been unable to visit her nephew in jail. She can’t post any bail for him, because she has no money.

Brown violated his probation by moving from Oregon to Spokane, Beavers said. She said she asked him to come to Spokane rather than being alone in Portland, where he would have likely lived on the street.

“They got a warrant out for him (in Oregon),” Beavers said. “He was between a rock and a hard place.”

Beavers said her nephew worked for a construction company for a while, which made him happy.

“He’s mentally retarded,” Beavers said. “He speaks fine. He just has problems knowing right from wrong … He’s like doomed from the beginning.”

Brown has four convictions on his criminal record for malicious harassment, robbery, assault and theft, according to the police news release.

In response to Wednesday’s attack, the Spokane Human Rights Commission issued a statement calling all crimes of race-based hatred abhorrent to all responsible citizens and encouraging citizens “to take an active part in teaching our youth to resist and report instances of race-related discrimination” to the city or state Human Rights Commissions.