Exclusive: Video shows racially charged road rage in Montgomery
Police call the behavior “disgusting,” but say it is not a criminal offense.
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An Orange County woman says she was targeted with racial slurs and threatened during a road rage incident late last month in the Town of Montgomery.
Sequoyah Fisher says the incident happened Jan. 21 between two traffic lights along Route 17K.
Fisher shared cellphone video with News 12 that captures a man yelling at her from his vehicle.
In the video, the man can be heard calling Fisher the N-word, telling her to “go f— yourself” and “learn how to drive” and repeatedly insulting her appearance and intelligence.
At one point, he says, “Don’t worry, I’ll call the cops and my brother right now. You’re getting arrested.”
Fisher says the man first accused her of cutting him off and spit on her car.
“He said I made him slam on his brakes,” she said.
She says the encounter quickly escalated.
“Next thing you know, I’m all these racial slurs, and my brother’s on the police department and I’m going to get you arrested,” she said. “And I’m like, OK — that’s alarming.”
Fisher says she does not even know how the argument turned racial.
"He just went on a tangent,” she said.
Montgomery Police Chief John Hank confirmed to News 12 that the man — who is from Montgomery, according to the report — is related to a member of the department.
He called the behavior “disgusting” and “unacceptable,” but said it did not rise to the level of a criminal offense.
No charges were filed.
Fisher says that is what troubles her most.
“It doesn’t sit right with me. If the shoe was on the other foot, I probably would’ve been arrested,” she said.
She described the experience as “extremely traumatizing.”
“I just don’t feel safe is what it really comes down to,” she said. “I live in New York. I’m not expecting to be treated like I’m in Mississippi or something and it’s 1946.”
Fisher says she believes the lack of consequences sends the wrong message.
“There’s no consequences, and they’re basically saying the behavior is OK to continue,” she said.
In the video, the man can also be heard questioning Fisher’s disabled parking tag. Fisher says she is a disabled Marine veteran who served four years active duty and three years in the Army Reserves.
Orange County District Attorney Dave Hoovler also reviewed the matter and said the police department's assessment is correct - that the behavior doesn't constitute a criminal offense.
However, Hoovler called the truck driver's conduct "morally reprehensible," adding that he is "a racist by his own mouth."
News 12 left a message for the other driver involved in the incident at a phone number found for him but has not heard back.
