A road rage incident in New York resulted in a man facing a hate crime charge after he was allegedly seen on video hurling a racial slur at a Black man.
William J. Ryan, 60, was arrested Tuesday for second-degree menacing as a hate crime, the City of Newburgh Police Department said.
The arrest stems from a road rage incident in Newburgh Saturday when Robert McLymore, who is Black, said he let a car get in front of him.
"I knew it was going to be an event as soon as I pulled into the Chinese restaurant and he followed us," McLymore said in a Facebook post.
In a video he shared, Ryan called McLymore an "a--hole" and claimed to be an off-duty trooper before calling McLymore the N-word.
"You'll never be white," Ryan screams from his pickup truck. "You'll never be white. F--- you."
As Ryan drives away, he continues to call McLymore the slur, the video shows. Police said Ryan displayed a knife during the incident.
"There is no place for hate in our community," police Chief Anthony Geraci said in a statement. "Mr. Ryan will be held accountable for his criminal actions and deplorable speech. His racist threats were not only harmful to the victim in this case, but echoes deep within our City."
McLymore, a local pastor who is also a lieutenant with the Town of Wallkill Police Department, was not immediately available for an interview. He said in his Facebook post that he does not believe Ryan is a trooper.
"He pulled out a knife and threatened us. Then he went to Broadway Liquor and did the same thing to a Spanish couple. This is the world we live in," McLymore wrote.
It's not clear if Ryan has obtained an attorney.
