Police say racist motivations appear not to have played a role in Lake Coeur d’Alene altercation that goes viral

When Rayshaun Banks went to Lake Coeur d’Alene two weeks ago to relax on the beach near the resort, he never expected to be at the center of a YouTube firestorm by week’s end.

But that all changed July 14, when a pair of videos were uploaded to Facebook showing the young black man being surrounded by a group of white men before getting pushed into the lake. The video quickly went viral, garnering hundreds of shares, comments and over 250,000 views.

Weeks later, Banks is left wondering if he was the target of a racially motivated assault.

“I happened to be the only black guy in the area,” he said in an interview last week. “If it wasn’t a race thing, somebody would definitely try to help me out, instead of just watching. Even at the end of the situation, nobody tried to defuse the situation. They just clapped on.”

The 24-year-old from North Carolina said it’s been tough to have the spotlight on him, especially one that catapulted him into the center of an argument about race, with both sides calling foul.

He said he’s received multiple messages of support from complete strangers, saying that if they were there, they would have stuck up for him. Several commenters echo that sentiment, saying they would have jumped in to help.

But others question if it was race-related at all. Some people who commented on the video said it was nothing more than a glorified scuffle, while others took the opportunity to point out other comments they deemed to be “reverse racism” toward white people.

Even Banks, who said this is the first time he’s ever had a negative experience in Coeur d’Alene – racially motivated or otherwise – since moving there a year and a half ago, sometimes questions if the young men who surrounded him and pushed him into the water were acting on racist impusles.

“I’m not really sure,” he said. “I’m just saying that there were five guys that were there that watched me get pushed down the steps. And nobody tried to help me or anything.”

The first video, which appears to be recorded by a friend of the group and uploaded by Banks’ nephew, shows Banks backed up to the edge of the sidewalk near the lake a few feet below. Six unidentified men who look to be in their early 20s have him partially surrounded when one of them pushes him off the sidewalk and into the water.

Banks then says, “All right, it’s on, let’s go,” and then, “You’re wishing I go to jail.” As he climbs back up onto the sidewalk, one of the people near the camera says, “He’s trying not to cry. He’s pissed. He’s so pissed he’s about to cry.”

In the second video, Banks and one of the men are yelling in each others’ faces. Multiple other men join in with expletives as Banks walks away while swearing and yelling at the men in return. When Banks gets farther away and looks as though he’s going to leave, several in the group clap and cheer.

While none of the men Banks was in the altercation with were available for comment, Banks contends the incident began because he lost his keys and asked them to help find them. He said he had just met them that afternoon, and for the most part, they were nice to him.

Banks said he’d been drinking, but not enough that he couldn’t remember what happened.

“I didn’t hurt anyone, I didn’t touch anyone,” he said. “If I was that drunk, don’t you think I would’ve hit someone? Yes, I would have.”

Detective Jared Reneau, spokesman for the Coeur d’Alene Police Department, said officers had been called to the area before the videotaped altercation because Banks was being disruptive while looking for his keys.

“That incident occurred after the fact,” he said.

He said once the video was brought to the department’s attention, police Chief Lee White specifically assigned an officer to view the video and determine if there was a racial component to the altercation. They determined there wasn’t, he said.

“We weren’t able to find anything that had to do with racism,” he said. “It seemed like the male had gone back to the area where he thought he lost his keys and had gotten into an altercation, from what we can tell.”

Banks said he remembered police being there before because it looked like a fight might break out. He said they asked him if he assaulted anyone, to which he said no, that he was just looking for his keys. He said the officers told him they couldn’t help search for the keys and left.

“And I said, ‘Well, so I miss out?’ ” he said. “And they leave, and I get assaulted.”