A man who was charged with a hate crime for allegedly disrupting a middle school class field trip to accost a Black boy and start a racist confrontation has been declared incompetent to stand trial.
Paul Jonathan Bittner, 42, was charged after the incident on June 12 in Bellingham, Washington.
Authorities say Bittner, who is white, started walking alongside a group of students and teachers from Whatcom Middle School who had just finished a field trip in downtown Bellingham. According to court documents, he walked directly in front of the 11-year-old Black student, then suddenly turned around and punched him in the face, chipping the boy’s tooth in the process.
He also asked the boy, “Are you going to talk to a white man like that?” the Tri-City Herald reported.
School staff members immediately separated Bittner from the students. He was arrested shortly after the incident.
Bittner was charged with second-degree assault of a child and a hate crime, which accuses him of “maliciously and intentionally” assaulting another person because of the perception of their race.
He pleaded not guilty to both felonies at an arraignment in June.
In July, Bittner’s attorney notified the court that he had “good-faith belief” that Bittner would be unable to assist in his own defense and was unfit to proceed to trial in his case, the Bellingham Herald reported.
After the judge overseeing the case ordered Bittner to undergo a competency evaluation, Bittner was evaluated by neuropsychologist Dr. John Neer.
Bittner told Neer that he started receiving mental health and disability services in 2009 after being diagnosed with schizophrenia. He denied having a history of substance abuse issues but also attended substance abuse treatment for “personal reasons.”
Records prove that Bittner received mental health treatment from March 2019 to April 2023 at a forensic state psychiatric hospital in California, which treats many patients sent there by county courts or the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Bittner is originally from California and moved to Washington state only a few years ago.
Neer noted that Bittner was “manic and verbally impulsive” and psychotic throughout the evaluation and, at times, was loud and verbally aggressive. Neer also believed Bittner was responding to internal stimuli and hallucinating through parts of the assessment after noticing that he was “smiling and laughing in an odd manner” and would “abruptly shift to spacing off.”
According to the doctor’s review, it was unclear whether Bittner understood his charges when asked about them. Even though Neer believed Bittner likely had a general understanding of the legal process, he noted that it was “clear that (Bittner’s) ability to have a rational reciprocal dialogue is rather impaired due to his impulsivity and heightened emotions.”
Neer diagnosed Bittner with bipolar-type schizoaffective disorder and determined he would benefit from inpatient psychiatric treatment that could potentially reduce his current mental health-related symptoms.
At his competency hearing on Aug. 1, the judge determined that Bittner was incompetent to stand trial because he could not assist in his own defense.
Bittner was ordered to receive 90 days of inpatient competency restoration treatment at a state psychiatric hospital. Before his treatment period ends and he’s transferred back to jail, his competency will be re-evaluated.
Once those findings are released to the court, a judge will determine whether Bittner will receive more treatment or return to the jail and move the case forward.
“We’re grateful he’s getting the help he needs, and we believe the community is safer because of it,” the boy’s family said in a statement to The Herald.
