SEA ISLE CITY, N.J. – A lacrosse player enrolled at the University of Delaware (UD) has been arrested for beating a police officer. Officials believe the attack was racially motivated.
Vince Giordano, 21, was arrested with Keith Hoffman, 23, and Thomas Russo, 21, for beating with a baseball bat 25-year-old Jarreau Francis, a black police officer who was walking in Sea Isle City with two white friends. The suspects also attacked one of Francis’ friends who tried to defend him.
During the incident, authorities say the suspects also uttered racial slurs and threatened the victim. Police are calling the attack a hate crime. All three suspects are white.
Giordano, Hoffman and Russo have been charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon and bias intimidation. All three are currently out on bail.
Francis, who was vacationing at the time of the incident, was treated at a local hospital for his injuries and then released.
