PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A woman is facing several charges after an alleged bias crime against a MAX rider and TriMet supervisor on Wednesday, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced Thursday.
Nicole Hileman, 41, was arraigned on five charges including first-degree bias crime, fourth-degree assault and three counts of interfering with public transport, authorities said.
The district attorney’s office said during the incident, a TriMet customer safety supervisor responded to a disturbance on a MAX train near Southeast Bybee Boulevard.
On the train, officials accuse Hileman of calling a man, who she did not know, racial slurs and threatened to punch him. Authorities said the TriMet supervisor told Hileman and the man to deboard MAX. While the man reportedly complied, the supervisor and Hileman stayed on the train, officials said.
Hileman then reportedly accused the supervisor of taking the man’s side “because she was ‘on his team’ which she interpreted to mean they were both of the same or similar race,” according to the district attorney’s office.
The supervisor reportedly detained Hileman while waiting for police to arrive and make an arrest after Hileman stood up on the train and spit saliva and food in front of the supervisor.
The district attorney’s office alleges that Hileman resisted — striking the supervisor in the head with her fist and kicked her in the leg.
Officials said the supervisor reported pain in her head “as a 4 out of 10,” and was later diagnosed with a concussion.
Authorities say during Hileman’s arrest, she referred to the victim as “’it’” and repeatedly asked what her gender was.