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Chase Coleman, an autistic ninth-grade student at Corcoran High School, quit the Syracuse West cross country team after being shoved to the ground by a stranger during a race in Rochester. Rochester authorities have declined to charge the man. Coleman is shown during a Sept. 10 meet in Chittenango.

(Submitted photo)

Update Oct. 31: Rochester police renew investigation

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Chase Coleman, an autistic ninth-grader at Corcoran High School, was running in a cross country race in Rochester when a middle-aged stranger attacked him.

The man got out of his car, shoved Chase down in the road and yelled "get out of here'' before driving off, according to witnesses.

A few days after the Oct. 14 incident, the nonverbal 15-year-old runner handed his uniform back to his coach and quit the team.

Now Chase's mother, Clarise Coleman, wants to know why Rochester authorities refuse to press charges against the man who admitted pushing Chase.

She fears the answer is this: Chase is black and disabled, and his attacker was white.

Whatever the reason, 57-year-old Martin MacDonald of suburban Pittsford was not charged. Rochester City Court Judge Caroline Morrison denied a requested arrest warrant charging MacDonald for second-degree harassment, despite Coleman's desire to press charges.

The harassment charge is only a violation, with a maximum jail sentence of 15 days. But Coleman is outraged that authorities won't seek at least that much justice for her son.

"If that man had been black and Chase had been white, and that (police) report went in, he'd have been in jail,'' she said.

Syracuse city officials also expressed concern. Coleman's city councilor, Susan Boyle, this week wrote a letter to Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley deploring what Boyle called "a racist, aggressive, unprovoked attack on a disabled African American minor with absolutely no consequences.''

Boyle said Syracuse officials want an explanation and an assurance that city school kids will be safe participating in events in Rochester.

Chase was running in his maroon Syracuse West cross country uniform, with a race number pinned to it. The incident occurred near the reservoir in Cobb's Hill Park, Rochester.

Witnesses said Chase was in the middle of a road when MacDonald stopped his car several feet away from the runner. The road was not closed to traffic. Chase's mother, who did not see the incident, speculates that Chase may have been confused about where to run.

MacDonald admitted pushing Chase to the ground, police said. Asked why, he told an officer "he thought Chase was going to mug his wife and take her purse,'' according to the police report.

"MacDonald's wife was sitting in the front passenger seat at the time of the incident,'' the officer noted.

MacDonald said he was concerned about Chase's intentions because "some youths had broken into his car recently,'' according to the police report. MacDonald also told an officer that Chase did not respond when told to move out of the road, police said.

Kris Van Metter, 42, was in Rochester visiting relatives that weekend and went for a bicycle ride in Cobb's Hill Park. Reached by phone Friday in Washington, D.C., Van Metter said he had just finished riding when he saw a large middle-aged man -- later identified by police as MacDonald -- get out of his car and yell at Chase for several minutes.

"I see a grown man, who is quite tall and fairly heavy . . . exit the vehicle and give this young man a shove that puts him back 10 feet and flat on his butt,'' Van Metter said. "Like, just shoved him across the road. The kid didn't seem to be doing anything but standing there, obviously had nothing in his hands, and weighed all of 130 pounds. This guy (MacDonald) was easily twice that."

MacDonald then hopped in his car and drove off, according to Van Metter and another witness, Collin Thompson, who was running in the area. Thompson and Van Metter both said Chase was in the middle of the road during the confrontation.

Both witnesses took down the car's license plate number.

Thompson told police that MacDonald yelled "Get out of here'' after shoving Chase to the ground, according to the Rochester police report. Thompson could not be reached for further comment.

Efforts to reach MacDonald by phone Friday and Saturday were unsuccessful.

Judge Morrison, who is African-American, did not respond to a request for comment. A clerk in her office referred questions to the district attorney.

Mary Wilmot, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Doorley, said their office was not involved because no arrest was ever made. Wilmot referred questions to the judge.

Chase, a slender 15-year-old, wasn't hurt physically in the attack. But because he is almost wholly unable to communicate with words, it's hard to assess the emotional impact, said his mother, Clarise.

"I just want to know what's in his head,'' she said.

Chase had been running cross country for three years, since seventh grade, and his mother said she was grateful that he had finally found a sport he liked. The team camaraderie was important for a kid who could not hold a simple conversation, she said.

Chase finished many races last, well behind the other runners, and the Oct. 14 race in Rochester was no different. Chase was straggling far behind the other runners when he encountered MacDonald.

Coleman, who was waiting for her son near the finish line, did not see the attack. Based on what the witnesses told her about Chase being in the road during the confrontation, she thinks it's likely he was off course and confused about where to go.

In the past, Coleman ran races with her son to keep him on course, but a knee injury forced her to stop.

Van Metter said he heard MacDonald shouting at Chase before he pushed him. If the man was yelling at him to move out of the road because he was blocking MacDonald's car, Chase likely would not have understood without being physically guided, his mother said.

Coleman said her son requires one-on-one guidance in most activities.

"He looks to adults to assist him, because that's what he's used to,'' she said.

Contact reporter Tim Knauss anytime | email | Twitter | 315-470-3023

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