Activists rally against reported harassment at hockey game

PHILIP, S.D. (AP) – A group of protesters demanded an apology Tuesday from the city of Philip and a resident for his alleged role in an incident at a Rapid City Rush hockey game in January where Native American students were reportedly subjected to racial slurs and sprayed with beer.

About eight demonstrators affiliated with the group United Urban Warrior Society gathered in Philip to call for the apologies. Philip resident Trace O’Connell, 41, has been charged in Rapid City with disorderly conduct and has an initial court appearance Wednesday. O’Connell has been out on a $300 cash bond since being charged about a month ago.

Chaperones for the students from the American Horse School in Allen have said the children and their chaperones left the game early because of the harassment.

Activist Joye Braun of Eagle Butte said that along with the apology Philip city officials should recommit to eradicating racism and a sense of “white superiority.” She and other demonstrators said that O’Connell got off too easy with the misdemeanor charge.

“I don’t think it’s fair that people can get away with things like this. It’s not fair to these kids,” Tashunka Wakinyan Means of Eagle Butte said. “They get treated like that, and he just gets a slap on the wrist for disorderly conduct? That’s a hate crime. That’s racism.”

O’Connell’s attorney, Patrick Duffy, has said that his client disputes the charge and that he did not use racial slurs or spray beer on the students. Duffy wouldn’t go into details about what happened during the game, saying O’Connell’s side of the story would come out in court.

Philip Mayor Mike Vetter took the microphone briefly at the small rally after activists asked if any Philip residents would like to speak. He said the city doesn’t condone racism, but said in an interview that he’s reserving judgment about whether to apologize.

“As far as making an official apology, I don’t think that it is in our best interest right now as a community to apologize for something that hasn’t been brought to trial yet,” Vetter said.

Shortly after O’Connell was charged, Oglala Sioux Tribal President John Yellow Bird Steele sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and President Barack Obama asking for a federal investigation into the reported harassment.

Yellow Bird Steele said Tuesday that federal authorities are requesting to review all the documents related to the investigation conducted by Rapid City authorities and haven’t yet decided whether to launch an inquiry of their own.

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AP writer Kevin Burbach in Pierre contributed to this report.