CALDWELL, Idaho — A Meridian man says he was assaulted by a stranger in Caldwell while waiting for an Uber, and the entire incident was captured on video that has since circulated on social media.
WATCH EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: David Romero recalls being profiled and assaulted
David Romero said the assault happened when an older man in a truck motioned for him to approach the vehicle. Thinking the man might be lost and need help, Romero walked over to assist that's when the viral video starts.
"Yeah, just out of nowhere he just like grabbed me," Romero said.
Instead of asking for directions, Romero said the man immediately assaulted him and made accusations.
"I just kind of went into shock, and I had my phone in my hand already, and I just started recording. He accused me of like stealing, um, going through cars trying to steal. I'm not sure if he like confused me with someone else," Romero said.
The situation escalated when Romero tried to point out what was happening.
"I was like wait a minute, this is assault, like you know, like you're assaulting me, you know, sir, you're literally assaulting me. And that's when he literally even pulled me in, like much more closer," Romero said.
DIGITAL EXTRA SEE THE FULL VIDEO:
During the recorded interaction, the man can be heard making references to Romero's ethnicity calling him an immigrant.
"Kind of confused, um, I'm gonna be honest. Living here for like the past 20 years in the Treasure Valley, I've never really experienced, you know, like racism I guess you could say, or any like indiscriminatory hate or anything like that. So it was my first, you know, experience, you know, experiencing it, and it just like kinda made me go into shock," Romero said.
Romero called 911 and filed a police report, but no arrests have been made. Caldwell police are aware of the video and say they are actively investigating and following up on leads.
We are aware of the disturbing video on social media showing a man assaulting another man at the Flying J. We are following up on leads and are actively investigating this case. If you have any information please call 208-454-7531
Idaho News 6 attempted to contact phone numbers visible on the side of the truck but has not received a response.
Despite calls from others on social media for him to have fought back, Romero said he chose not to escalate the violence.
"A lot of people saying why I didn't like defend myself, why I didn't like choose to like fight back or anything and. I'm not the type to like hurt someone else," Romero said.
Romero said he plans to press charges once the man is identified and found.
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