CHICAGO _ The woman shown in a viral video being berated for wearing a Puerto Rican flag T-shirt said Friday that she's disappointed a police officer in the video resigned before any public hearing because she won't be able to hear his explanation for why he "blatantly ignored" her request for help.
But Mia Irizarry said she felt "indescribable joy" that the officer won't be in a position to turn someone else away.
"I will never get to hear from this man, this protector, (why) my safety _ no, my life _ had such little value to him," she said.
Also Friday, the man accused of confronting the woman appeared in Cook County court on a felony hate crime charge and was allowed to be released on a recognizance bond. His lawyer called Timothy Trybus' words "certainly obnoxious" but blamed a combination of alcohol and pain pills, saying Trybus had six teeth removed the previous day.
The apparent inaction of forest preserve police officer Patrick Connor as Irizarry called for help has elicited heavy criticism. The footage showed the officer seemingly ignoring her requests as she explains that a man is harassing her and that she has a permit to be in the public space. Connor, who had been placed on desk duty June 25 during an internal investigation, resigned Wednesday amid calls for the Forest Preserve District to terminate his employment.
Irizarry appeared at a news conference in Humboldt Park with The Puerto Rican Agenda of Chicago, in her first public appearance since the video she shot a month ago became national news.
She thanked people who have checked in on her and expressed support, and a man unrolled a Puerto Rican flag as she finished her speech.
The fallout since the video went viral has been swift.
On Thursday, Trybus of Chicago was formally accused of two counts of felony hate crime, after earlier facing much less serious charges of misdemeanor assault and misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
In court Friday, Trybus' lawyer, David Goldman, acknowledged his client has an alcohol problem and said he'd mixed alcohol with painkillers the day of the videotaped incident.
"Almost everyone in this court has witnessed the video. It was certainly obnoxious speech," Goldman said. "It's almost like a Jekyll-and-Hyde situation when he drinks."
Trybus, who was quiet during the hearing, was given a $10,000 I-bond, which requires no cash bail. He will be placed on electronic home monitoring and was ordered to undergo an alcohol evaluation and to stay away from Irizarry and all Cook County forest preserves.
Assistant State's Attorney Robert Heilingoetter said Trybus' "aggressive tone" seemed to have been "a direct result" of Irizarry's shirt.
"He was raising his voice, pointing his finger in her face and getting within inches of her personal space," the prosecutor said. "This caused Miss Irizarry to feel threatened so much so she believed she was going to be physically harmed by the defendant."
Judge Earl Hoffenberger said that in granting Trybus a no-cash bond, he took into account that Trybus cares for a 76-year-old woman.
Outside the Skokie courthouse, a man who identified himself as Trybus' neighbor, John Bimmerle, said Trybus had helped him with his car and to feed homeless people in Chicago.
"The problem," Bimmerle said, "is he's an alcoholic, and that gets his mouth going. This should no more be a hate crime than the man on the moon. This should be an alcohol and stupid-mouth crime. He's not racist."
The incident occurred June 14 in Caldwell Woods Forest Preserve on Chicago's Far Northwest Side. But it became widely known this week when a video of the encounter was posted on social media, prompting condemnation from many local activists and politicians and from the governor of Puerto Rico.
In the video, a man later identified as Trybus confronts and screams at a woman about her shirt, telling her she should not be wearing it in the United States.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle earlier this week apologized to Irizarry, while speaking at an unrelated event, calling the incident "completely unacceptable."
Preckwinkle has said she had a phone call with Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rossello, who had referenced her directly in a Tweet about the video.
"I expressed my regret over the June 14 incident in the Caldwell Woods Forest Preserves and assured him that what is shown in the video does not represent our values in Cook County," Preckwinkle said in the statement.
