A Connecticut man is facing a plethora of charges for allegedly knocking an 11-year-old boy off his bicycle and telling him to go back to where he came from. The boy’s mother believes her child was targeted because of his race, saying a form of this kind of bullying happens to their family on a daily basis.
Jameson Chapman, 48, has been charged with third-degree assault, risk of injury to a child, and second-degree breach of peace after he was identified as the man captured on two now-viral videos featuring a pre-teen biracial boy named Daniel Duncan. A police report notes Chapman told state troopers while being processed that the young boy “deserved it.”
The first video, which was captured by Duncan’s friend, was filmed earlier in the day when Chapman’s initial encountered the group. The white man is seen confronting the middle schooler, who can be heard telling the man he almost got “hit by a car.”
The man never addresses the child’s comments but tells him he doesn’t belong in Deep River.
“Get the f**k out of my town,” Chapman says to the child 37 years younger than him. “Where did you grow up? Did you grow up in Connecticut?”
The boy says, “No.”
“No, you didn’t… So, get the f**k out of my town,” he repeats.
One of the videos were posted on TikTok by a person claiming to be related to Daniel. The text overlaid on the clip said, “We need justice!”
“So sad this is happening to our children. When will this end,” it continued. “Deep River CT, man assaulting my nephew because he is not white! Need justice for Daniel! Just like many others.”
Another video shows the man in a different section of the city pushing Duncan, a sixth-grader, off his bike. As he attacked the young boy, the footage shows him yelling, “Get the f*** off your bike.”
In a police report, Duncan told officers that Chapman had bumped into his friend while they were riding their bikes. The group attempted to evade Chapman after he cursed at them for a second time while in a convenience store. They waited in the parking lot for Chapman to leave, but encountered him for the third time, resulting in the push.
The altercation has traumatized Duncan, his family says.
The boy’s mother, Desiree Dominique, watched the video and said, “went into total shock.”
“I could not contain my anger,” she remarked.
She also said to WFSB, “Daniel is afraid to leave the house. He’s terrified to leave the house.”
However, she also notes his fear is not squarely rooted in the recent altercation.
She says her children faced racism every day in Middlesex County town. Another example, she gave to Fox 61 New was of an assault on a different son who was shot with a pellet gun by neighborhood teens while he was riding in a car.
These acts against her children don’t make Dominique feel great about the plight they are in, living in this particular community, “I feel very upset. I feel anger. I feel sadness. I feel a sense of powerlessness.”
Dominique moved her family to the predominately white town four years ago.
According to the 2020 census, Deep River has about 4,466 residents and is one of the least populated municipalities in the state. White people make up 91.0 percent, compared against Blacks at 2.4 percent.
Racism has been an issue for the town. The community message board included derogatory terms toward people of color.
Town First Selectman Angus McDonald said the racist behavior seen on the message board and in the aforementioned cases is unacceptable. She further does not reflect the vast majority of the people that live in Deep River.
Criminal records show that Chapman has a violent past and was convicted of third-degree assault in 2018. Despite his history of violence and his current charges, Chapman has been released from custody on a $10,000 bail.
Chapman is due in Middletown Superior Court later in July.
