Army Spc. Tevin Geike and two
other white soldiers were accosted by five black men driving by, who
yelled racial slurs at them, including the epithet, “cracker,” at 2:30
am. One of the soldiers yelled back, ”So this is how we treat combat
veterans now?”
The car turned around, and the
five men surrounded the three soldiers while verbal insults were
exchanged. The driver tried calling his friends off after realizing
these were soldiers, but one appeared to “bump” into Geike as they left
to get back into their car.
Immediately, Geike collapsed to the ground in began bleeding profusely.
He had been stabbed in the heart.
From Komo News:
“We came down here, and he was already dead in my brother’s arms,” said Glenn Zimmerman, a friend of Geike. Friends say there was a party at the Biltmore Motel that evening, and Geike was gathering with family and friends after being discharged from the military. Zimmerman said Geike’s contract was up, and he was celebrating serving his country. “I don’t understand how someone can do this – that man, he almost gave his life for people to enjoy the freedoms they have and he was just stabbed for no (expletive) reason,” he continued.
The initial remark that started the encounter seemed derogatory in nature, said Lakewood police Lt. Chris Lawler. He said it was too early to say that race was the motivating factor, but investigators were exploring whether the killing should be classified as a hate crime.
“We are certainly considering it, for sure,” Lawler said.
This morning, three suspects were
arrested in the case, but shockingly, the police are ruling out race as a
motivation, and even more surprising, the five suspects are active
military members.
From King 5 News:
A sergeant contacted Lakewood detectives Sunday with information about a suspect who had asked another soldier for first aid for a knife wound. According to the sergeant, the suspect reportedly told the soldier he had cut his hand while stabbing a man over the weekend. However, when the sergeant confronted him, the suspect said he cut his hand while chopping vegetables. The suspect also told hospital staff he injured his hand while cutting a parachute cord, when he went to Madigan Hospital for treatment. Two of the five suspects in the stabbing death were cooperating with police.Officers also interviewed a 21-year-old soldier who admitted to being at the scene…
According to the soldier, the car stopped and the men got out but nothing happened once the parties realized everyone was active duty.
As they were walking back to the car, however, the 21-year-old soldier said it looked like the suspect gave the victim a “bear-hug” and pushed him to the ground. When the suspect returned to the car, the soldier said he was covered in blood and they discovered he had stabbed the victim.
There must be a good reason that the
police are denying race as a motivation in the murder, otherwise they’re
taking the word from perpetrators of a murder rather than those
attacked. Do the police believe it was another kind of altercation, and the two
friends of Geike made up the story about the racial comments? If so,
what other reason did they have to shout at the men walking in the
street?
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