An elderly South Carolina man is facing charges after being accused of committing a racially motivated attack against a Black hospice caregiver, which was caught on camera and posted to social media.
John Daniel Rosso, 79, was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery in the third degree on April 28.
According to a police report cited by The Augusta Press and WRDW, officers arrived at the scene in a residential neighborhood in Aiken earlier that day, where they saw 25-year-old Jasmine Thomas with visible bruising on her face.
The certified nursing assistant told police that she was driving to work and saw Rosso, who is white, parked on the side of the road and speaking with a woman walking her dog. She said Rosso followed her down the street and parked behind her after she stopped her car outside the home where she works.
According to the incident report, he got out of his car, approached her vehicle, and began banging on her driver’s side window. When she rolled down the window, she said he struck her in the face.
The video Thomas posted to TikTok shows Rosso telling Thomas to “Shut up!” before she flees the car through the passenger side, and Rosso follows her into the yard.
She told police Rosso chased her through the yard, hit her again, then told her “You don’t belong here,” and called her a “b—.”
“You done lost your mind! You’d better go on somewhere!” Thomas tried to warn the man before the confrontation escalated again.
After hearing screaming in his front yard, the homeowner and Thomas’ employer, Josh Herring, came out of his home and intervened.
Herring told police that Thomas had been working for his family for some time and believed the incident was “provoked by racism.”
Thomas gave police video evidence from her cellphone, and Herring also handed over Ring doorbell surveillance footage showing the attack.
Thomas told officers she was afraid Rosso would “kill her and her children” if he ever saw them out. She told local news outlet WRDW that she hasn’t returned to work yet because she’s still working through mental and emotional trauma.
“It’s been scary, though. Every time I close my eyes, I think about him. I see him in my head every time I close my eyes. I don’t like being shut in a dark room anymore. Or if I’m sleeping, there has to be some kind of light where I can see. I don’t like being in the dark. Or sometimes I cry out of nowhere. Or if I hear something loud, I just jump out my body. It’s kind of scary for real,” said Thomas. ”Now it’s like every time I hear something loud, it’s kind of traumatizing because it’s like, what is it.”
Josh and Meredith Herring say Thomas has worked with the family for about a year, providing caregiving services to Josh’s father.
“We fell in love with her because she takes good care of my dad,” said Josh.
“She’s a good teacher … She’s taught me how to bathe him, turn him. She’s been great,” said Meredith.
Thomas said she is grateful the couple intervened during the encounter and are supporting her as she recovers from the incident.
“Thank God for Josh and Meredith … They’re not gonna make it about them. It’s about us. Because had they wouldn’t have been here, no telling how far it would’ve escalated,” said Thomas.
Rosso was booked at the Aiken Detention Center. His bond was set at $1,087.50.
