Andrew Rhodes, a sophomore at IU studying exercise science, often rides electric scooters from campus to his house. He was riding home Feb. 12 on Henderson Street when he was harassed by a man driving a car behind him who reportedly called him a racial slur.
Rhodes said he did not notice the man in the car at first. He continued to listen to his music while thinking the car would pass him. He said he didn’t notice the man until he turned around and saw the man flipping him off and yelling.
“I didn’t let it affect me emotionally or mentally, because that’s what people who do this want to see,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes said the university told him the man was an employee hired through a third-party who has since been suspended. The university also told Rhodes that the Bloomington Police Department is pursuing charges against the man.
Once Rhodes heard the man yelling at him, he got off his scooter. He began filming the incident on his phone. In the video, the man can be heard arguing with Rhodes, who is black, for riding on the road before running over the scooter Rhodes had just dismounted.
The man later reportedly calls Rhodes a racial slur. The video also shows the man had an IU parking pass. The tweet, which contains offensive language, had almost 2,000 likes and 751 retweets as of Monday.
“You have no legal right to be on the road,” the man can be heard yelling before running over the scooter.
IU spokesperson Chuck Carney said in a text message the university is aware of the situation and has reached out to the student to provide assistance. He said the off-campus incident is being investigated by BPD. Rhodes also filed a separate bias incident report with the university.
“The behavior exhibited toward our student in the video is abhorrent and no one in our IU family should be subject to such a circumstance,” Carney said.
“It’s good to see the university’s reaction to this,” Rhodes said. “It’s good to see there are consequences for these actions.”
Bloomington has specific regulations when it comes to electric scooters such as those provided by Lime and Bird. While many of these regulations are still being debated, the city allows riders to use the street, bike lanes, sidewalks and trails outside of the busiest parts of town, while street riding is preferred downtown and in the city square, according to the city of Bloomington website.
Rhodes said he often rides a scooter to get home from campus. He said it’s convenient because he does not have a car. A Bloomington Scooter Survey from March 2019 reported that 26.7% of scooter users in Bloomington ride on the roads.
