SACRAMENTO, Calif — Dr. Elysse Versher is demanding answers from Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD). Versher, vice principal at West Campus High School, said the school district failed to prevent a hate crime that happened on campus in November 2021.
"I have pleaded with the district for three years to intervene on my behalf," Versher said. "I've been racially terrorized. The district could have intervened years ago to avoid the racial hate crime. It's broken me."
Versher says students spray-painted the 'N-word' five times on a wall, near her designated parking spot and posted threats on social media. The school district, along with the Sacramento Police Department, is still investigating the case.
"There's been zero follow up, zero follow through, zero accountability," Versher said. "I am not surprised that the investigation has taken five months. We know the students responsible. They went on social media, continue to go on social media even now, to publicly harass me."
Detectives from the Sacramento Police Department's Bias Crimes Task Force are handling the case. They reviewed surveillance video footage from West Campus High in December. As a result, detectives spotted three people on camera. Police are asking the community for help in identifying the individuals for possible questioning about the hate crime.
"I had to help the detectives get the correct school personnel to even get the camera footage," Versher said. "Once that came out, the district did not want to identify students or employees."
Police are still searching for the people responsible for the crime and following up on leads. Police say there are no suspects at this time.
The ABC10 Race and Culture Team reached out to the school district for an for an interview and update on the investigation. SCUSD did not respond. Versher plans on filing a civil lawsuit against the school district.
"It's just been a persistent dragging and sweeping the case under the rug with the district," Versher said. "The pain keeps growing the longer the investigation takes place."