Calgary police investigating hate crime after man harassed at Pride crosswalk

 Calgary police are investigating a possible hate crime after a man was called a homophobic slur at the Pride crosswalk near Central Memorial Park Tuesday.

In a social media post, X (Twitter) user @immrfabulous says he was taking a video of the new Pride crosswalk downtown when he was verbally harassed by a passerby.

“I was excited to hear of a Pride Walk that was being painted so went to take a look and the verbal attack ensued,” the man tweeted.

In the 17-second video, the man swears at him and calls him a homophobic slur. The video can be seen here (warning: graphic language).

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“You’re not human, there’s only two genders,” he says in the video.

It’s not clear what interaction preceded the short video.

In a statement to CityNews, authorities say an investigation has been launched into the incident. The Hate Crime Prevention Team has been in contact with the victim to offers supports.

CityNews has reached out to Twitter user @immrfabulous for comment.

How police define hate-motivated crimes

Police say hate-motivated crimes are recognizable crimes – like assault, theft, vandalism or any other crime – where the offender was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate that is based on the personal characteristics of the victim.

However, those acts don’t meet the threshold of a criminal offence.

Hate motivation doesn’t result in any additional charges, but any evidence of it is considered by the courts if a person is found guilty of the connected crime, according to authorities; it is an aggravating factor that can add to a convicted person’s sentence.