Stephen Gruber-Miller

sgrubermil@dmreg.com

Officials have ruled that an altercation involving a black University of Iowa student in downtown Iowa City two weeks ago does not meet the criteria for a hate crime.

No charges are anticipated, according to an Iowa City Police Department news release sent at about 9:30 p.m. Monday. Police also said they received an apology from the family of UI freshman Marcus Owens upon finding that Owens' account of the incident did not entirely match police findings.

According to the release, the police reached their conclusion after speaking with witnesses and reviewing video of the alleyway on the 200 block of Iowa Avenue from the night of April 30, when Owens reported being assaulted by three white men who directed racial slurs at him.

The apology from the Owens family, issued with the news release, states that "Marcus now knows that his account of events was inconsistent with police findings, in part due to alcohol being involved, his embarrassment at his behavior, as well as the injuries he sustained."

Owens received 15 stitches in his lip as well as treatment for a broken blood vessel in one eye and two broken front teeth from the incident, according to his family.

"This incident was not a hate crime, as originally believed, but rather a case of excessive underage drinking and extremely poor judgment on the part of many people, Marcus included," the apology states.

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Police said the N-word was used by one person during an altercation, as Owens had reported. However, an FBI review of the incident found that it did not meet the criteria necessary to be labeled a hate crime, according to police.

Owens had said he arrived at Eden Lounge on Iowa Avenue at about 9 p.m. and was assaulted in the alley between 10 and 11 p.m. However, video showed that Owens did not arrive at Eden Lounge until 11:43 p.m., police said.

Further video evidence shows Owens was involved in a fight in the bar at about 1:32 a.m. May 1, and then exited the bar at 1:34 a.m. and became involved in a fight "pushing and punching another person."

Timeline for reported assault

Police said Owens was removed from the area by bar staff at 1:35 a.m. and was denied re-entry a minute later. He then became involved in another altercation at the intersection of Iowa Avenue and Linn Street at 1:41 a.m., police said, citing surveillance video.

Then, at 1:45 a.m., witnesses told police that Owens was involved in a third fight where he grabbed another person and attempted to hit them. It was then that UI Police arrived on the scene and witnesses said Owens walked home with another person.

The Owens' family apology thanked UI President Bruce Harreld, the university and the ICPD "for their attention, sensitivity (and) diligence in this matter, and in thoroughly addressing our many concerns."

UI had been widely criticized on Twitter under the hashtag #ExplainIowa for being slow to inform the public of the incident and for not sending out a campus safety alert.

"At no point in this investigation was any information located that was determined to present a public safety issue to the Iowa City community as well as the University of Iowa community," the release said. "All evidence gathered supports that this was an isolated incident that stemmed from an ongoing disagreement."

The police investigation found that the original altercation Owens was involved in was the result of a disagreement between students belonging to the Pi Kappa Alpha and Kappa Sigma fraternities and was described as an isolated incident. The release states that Owens was reported to have been a pledge member of Pi Kappa Alpha.

The two fraternities were cooperative in the investigation, according to the release. Iowa City police were also assisted by UI Police, the Johnson County Attorney's Office and the FBI, the release states.

The Iowa City Police Department and Johnson County Attorney's Office will hold a news conference at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 410 E. Washington St. in Iowa City, to address further questions regarding the incident.

Reach Stephen Gruber-Miller at 319-887-5407 or sgrubermil@press-citizen.com. Follow him at @sgrubermiller.