Detectives have charged a man following two separate hate crime incidents in Liverpool City Centre earlier this year.
At around 10am on Wednesday 20 April, it was reported that a teenager was approached by an unknown man on Park Lane, near to the mini roundabout going towards Jamaica Street.
It was alleged that the man kicked one of his crutches, directed insulting comments towards him about his disability, and threatened violence towards him.
In a separate incident, at around 4.30pm on Tuesday 24 May, it was reported that a man directed racial slurs towards staff at a shop on Church Street. It was further reported that he attempted to assault members of staff and threw a drink at them before being escorted out by security staff.
Following extensive police enquiries, including a CCTV appeal where members of the public came forward with information, a man was arrested.
Michael Cain, 31, of no fixed abode, has now been charged with aggravated common assault/beating; aggravated harassment; common assault; assault by beating; and two counts of criminal damage.
Cain will next appear at Liverpool Magistrates Court on Thursday 18 October.
Anyone with information on hate crime is asked to contact Merseyside Police social media desk via Twitter @MerPolCC. You can also call 101 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information.
If, for any reason, you do not wish to report a hate crime to the police, the independent charity Stop Hate UK to run a 24/7 confidential helpline for all victims of hate crime on 0800 138 1625 or www.stophateuk.org. You can also download the Stop Hate UK reporting app on Google Play or the Apple App Store.
Across Merseyside, we also have a number of third party reporting centres including fire stations, citizens advice bureaus and hospitals. A list of locations can be viewed here: merseyside-third-party-hate-crime-reporting-centres.pdf
