Macy's manager who was assaulted by teen for allegedly using n-word asks for leniency for his attacker
FLINT TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN: A Macy's manager whose brutal assault by a black teenager over allegations that he used the n-word that was caught on camera and went viral online has requested leniency for his attacker.
We had previously reported how 18-year-old Damire Canell Palmer of Mount Morris had been taken into custody on July 9, 13 days after he was formally charged with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder in connection to assaulting a 50-year-old manager at the Macy's in Genesee Valley Center in Flint Township.
The incident, which took place on June 15, had been filmed by Palmer's brother, rapper FT Quay, and showed the teen punching the manager in the face without warning. The manager immediately asks, "What are you doing that for?" and tries to extend his arm to protect himself but is punched again, with the 18-year-old yelling at him for touching him. The manager then tells him, "I didn't touch you... I'm sorry" and is punched a few more times before the clip abruptly ends.
Palmer appeared in court on Wednesday, August 12, to plead guilty and share his side of the story as a part of a plea agreement that will see the felony charges against him dropped from his record if he completes his sentence. The plea was agreed after Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said the victim, who is still dealing with the trauma of the assault, did not want to have to take the stand and asked for leniency for Palmer.
Taking to the stand to testify, Palmer described what happened before he attacked the manager. "I asked him a question about some clothes," he said. "I asked him about the jacket type that I was about to get." The teen said the manager answered him, they laughed, and then his brother told him that the manager called him the n-word. He said he has since learned that his brother lied to him.
Patrick McCombs, the assistant prosecutor who was questioning him, told him that he understood the anger he felt at that moment and that the manager who he attacked has asked that his charge does not stay with him forever because of a mistake.
"Basically, you beat this guy so bad he was quite bloody correct?" McCombs asked. When Palmer responded in the affirmative, he continued, "And did you know that he has agreed that you should be treated as a youthful offender even though you beat on him like that?" Palmer responded by saying he did not know that the manager had asked for the leniency.
According to the plea agreement, if the teen completes his sentence, which could range from probation to 10 years behind bars, the felony charge will be removed from his record and replaced with a misdemeanor charge of aggravated assault. "Nobody’s looking to hang felonies on young men," Leyton said. "I never have and I never will. This was a bad crime though, and he has to face the consequences." The 18-year-old will be sentenced on September 1.