Construction site brawl allegedly racially motivated. Pasco police say not so

A fight at a Pasco construction site left a worker with broken bones and a father, mother and two teen sons are facing assault charges.

Both sides claim it was racially motivated but Pasco police say it was really about a parking spot.

“It was over parking,” said police Sgt. Rigo Pruneda. “It wasn’t because someone was white.”

For a few weeks, a family living in the area of Remington Drive and Chapel Hill Boulevard had been complaining to police about construction workers parking on the street in spots used by family members.

The disagreement boiled over last week at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 26, when a fight broke out in the yard of a house under construction across the street.

Godfrey Davis, 44, and Kaymesha Hanson, 41, and their two 14-year-old sons got into a fight with concrete worker David Smith. Other people joined in, though it’s unclear who they were.

One of Smith’s co-workers started to record the fight on his cellphone.

Smith put the video on his Facebook page, along with a picture showing the damage to his face. He says he suffered a broken nose, broken orbital bone and fractured ribs.

“Just out working providing for my kids and I get violently assaulted racially motivated for not bowing down like a mouse,” he posted.

The melee had broken up by the time Pasco officers arrived, Pruneda said. And Smith declined medical treatment at the scene.

Investigators are working to get Smith’s medical records, but without more details about his injuries, police could only cite the four with fourth-degree assault, a gross misdemeanor, said Pruneda.

Brian Roach, the attorney representing the family members, initially told KEPR TV that the family and Smith had been involved in a series of arguments that were peppered by racially motivated comments.

They claim Smith threatened one their teens with a hammer.

Roach told the Herald that he initially talked with the media but now has agreed with Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant that he won’t make any more comments on the facts of the case until they review all the reports and all videos.

“However, the narrative that the alleged victim in this case has promoted — that this was a race crime, where an African-American family targeted and assaulted a white man because of his race based on a parking violation — is ludicrous,” he said.

“It is the wildest of fiction, and an effort to promote a fantasy. I believe the facts will come to light in the coming days and will paint a picture in complete contrast to what the alleged victim is promoting on social media.”

The two-minute video, which Smith’s co-owner declined to provide to the media, shows a fight start and others join in. Punches are thrown, at least two people end up on the ground.

One person is heard yelling, “F--- that white boy,” and then, “Do not help this white boy.”

Pasco police later posted on Facebook, “We would encourage people to call the police early in cases like this. Often, a patrol officer can explain current law and work out a solution to something like a parking dispute.”

They also have Area Resource Officers who can help serve as mediators in chronic neighborhood disputes.

Police are also asking anyone with video of the fight or more information to contact Detective Chris Caicedo at caicedoc@pasco-wa.gov.

This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 11:14 AM.