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Man charged with assault after woman spat on, called racial slur in hate crime: Calgary police

Tianna Hay is supported by her sister and recounts, through tears, the trauma of being spat on and called a racial slur by a stranger outside a Calgary store. Global News

A Calgary man was charged with assault after allegedly spitting on a woman and calling her the N-word in February, police said Tuesday.

Police released details about the assault on May 27, saying that on Feb. 11, Tianna Hay approached the entrance to the Dollarama at 5401 Temple Dr. N.E.

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“As she was about to enter, a man was exiting the store. She stepped aside to allow the man to leave, at which point, without provocation, he spat on the woman and called her a racial slur,” police previously said.

Now, nearly a month after police released that information, Hay spotted the man who assaulted her while downtown.

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Police charged Davit Aleksanyan, 27, with one count of common assault and said he is set to appear in court on July 8.

“That racial slur is not something that I savour or retain in my vocabulary. It carries centuries of anguish and hostility towards people that came before me and who look just like me,” Hay said in May.

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