ELK GROVE, Calif. — Sacramento police released images of those they believed are connected to a hate crime where a West Campus High School assistant principal was targeted with racist graffiti near her parking space.
Dr. Elysse Versher told ABC10 she saw the "n-word" spray-painted five times at her assigned parking spot. Versher said she became the target of racist harassments on social media for trying to enforce the dress code before the abuse moved into the real world.
"We’re afraid that people will say you’re playing the race card, and so we don’t say anything," Versher said. "And I feel like being quiet has just given consent to this hate crime to just keep happening."
Versher said she was hospitalized after the harassment due to stress-induced seizures, something she said had never happened before.
Police said they have been investigating since Nov. 4 and have reviewed several hours of surveillance footage. They said they are trying to identify these three people in the footage.
People came out days later to show their support for Versher and to show their anger over the slurs written on her parking spot.
But community activist Berry Accius does not believe the three in the photo are the ones who committed the crime.
"It's a big cover-up at this time i feel like the west campus principal, as well as the district, is doing an obvious job of making sure those privileged children who did this are being covered and being supported unfortunately Dr. V is not being supported," Accius said.
Accius’ disbelief comes from when the crime was originally reported it was a young girl that was in question and the three in the photo look to be young men
"This to me is smoke screens and creating more of the racist things that we have talked about how they are now trying to pinpoint a African American who I believe was a person picking up someone else a student there not going into the details of what Dr. V has said and what teachers have also said," he said.
Sonia Lewis, a former Black Lives Matter Sacramento leader said targeted racial harassment isn't new at Sacramento City Unified School District. Lewis said Versher has been targeted online in the past, and Lewis herself said she faced racism and trauma during her time working for the district between 2002 and 2009.
Police are asking anyone with information regarding this case to call 916-808-5471.
