‘Repugnant and shameful episode’: Hamilton man sentenced after racist parking lot assault

A Stoney Creek man captured on video during a racist and violent confrontation in a Walmart parking lot in 2018 has been handed a conditional sentence that includes three months house arrest.

Dale Robertson pleaded guilty to assault and threatening on Nov. 1, 2019. Due to the pandemic, sentencing was delayed until Jan. 14, 2021 when the 49-year-old was handed a six month conditional sentence, followed by two years probation.

It is an exceedingly sad commentary on the condition of our community that more than 50 years after Dr. Martin Luther King's dream of a society in which a person is judged by the content of their character rather than the colour of their skin, this type of abhorrent conduct continues to be displayed with depressing regularity," Ontario Court Justice George Gage said during sentencing, according to an official recording of the proceeding obtained by The Spectator.

Plainly, Mr. Robertson is not the only one who needs to reflect on how we can prevent this going forward."

Court heard that on July 27, 2018, Robertson was in the parking lot of the store on Centennial Parkway North when he got into a confrontation with a couple. He hurled racial slurs, telling the man to go back to his own country."

Robertson, who had his child with him, got into his pickup truck and the victims walked over to him. The man asked for an apology and asked Robertson what kind of an example he was setting for his child, while the woman recorded video.

Robertson refused to apologize and began to drive forward, hitting the woman. He stopped, said oops" and then continued to move forward yelling for them to get out of the way. When the male victim put his arm out to stop Robertson from leaving, Robertson said if he put his hands on him again, he'd break the man's legs.

The victim said he was a Canadian citizen. Show me, prove it, I don't believe it, you don't talk like a Canadian," Robertson said, and mocked the way the victim spoke.

WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC LANGUAGE

I'm racist as f-, I don't like you, I don't like her, I would kill your children first, yeah I would, don't ever attack me again," Robertson said. Then he drove off.

The video was uploaded to social media and widely shared. The incident became national news. Robertson was identified and charged.

Robertson has no prior record. At the time of the incident he was on stress leave from his work. Before the incident he had been diagnosed with depression and PTSD.

After he was identified and charged, he lost his job and was barred from coaching hockey, which he had done voluntarily for 18 years. His mental health spiralled to the point where he couldn't get out of bed. Since then he's worked to address his mental health issues. He's agreed to take any racism sensitivity training required during his sentence.

Court also hear about the impact on the victims, who described the stress and fear they face, including fearing Hamilton is not a safe place to raise their children.

In his sentencing Gage called it a repugnant and shameful episode" and later deeply disturbing and morally offensive." He considered both the racism and the fact that a vehicle was used in the assault as factors in sentencing.

But he also acknowledged Robertson's remorse, his good behaviour before and since the incident, and his efforts to address issues that led to the incident.

Gage noted that the video can still be easily found online.

The consequences will almost certainly follow Mr. Robertson to his grave," he said.

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