Gig Harbor Woman Accused Of Fabricating Hate Crime

GIG HARBOR, WA — A Gig Harbor-area woman may end up facing charges, after police say she falsely claimed she had been the victim of a hate crime.

According to Gig Harbor police, officers received a report of a hate crime targeting a woman and her daughter on Monday. Police say the woman told them she and her child had been walking from their car into a nearby store, when someone yelled a racial slur at them. When they later left that store, the woman claims she found her car had been vandalized with graffiti, police said.

After filing a report with police, the woman also posted about the incident on social media, where it received the attention of concerned community members. The post has since been deleted.

However, once police started investigating the case, they say they found some glaring holes in the woman's story. Officers say security footage from the area shows several inconsistencies in her retelling of events, including that she may have even put the graffiti up herself.

After pressing the woman on the issue, police say she stopped cooperating with the investigation and has refused to give any other statements. The police department is now forwarding its investigation to the Gig Harbor Municipal Court Prosecutor, and say the woman may be charged with false reporting of a crime.

False reporting can be a felony if it causes serious injuries, endangers others, or results in a significant emergency response, though it's more likely this case will result in a gross misdemeanor.

Over the past year there has been a marked rise in hate crimes in Washington, particularly hate crimes targeting Asian residents. Officers say incidents like this can be harmful, as they make light of a serious problem.

"The false reporting of a hate crime is especially egregious in that it has the potential to delegitimize actual victims of these crimes and to generate a false sense of alarm within the community," the police department said. "False reporting of this nature will be prosecuted as thoroughly as legitimate crimes."

The department also says that, despite this incident, it will continue to treat hate crimes with the severity they deserve.

"The City of Gig Harbor and the Gig Harbor Police Department stand firm in the defense of all persons, regardless of race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity," the department said. "Gig Harbor is not a place where hate is tolerated and any such report will be investigated fully to hold offenders accountable and to protect victims. We are committed to maintaining our city and community as a safe environment for all persons."