Ledyard — After an investigation during which several people told police that they had heard a racist slur at the end of the Bacon Academy and Ledyard High School girls basketball game on Feb. 5, police submitted an arrest warrant application to charge a man with second-degree breach of peace.

New London State's Attorney Paul Narducci said last month that his office reviewed the information and requested an additional investigation, but found there was "insufficient evidence" to prosecute the case, though he said the language was abhorrent. "We didn't feel we could establish that the comments were directed at any one individual nor did we think we could prove beyond a reasonable doubt who uttered the comment," he said.

The warrant application, which Ledyard town police released upon request by The Day, includes details about the night and accounts from witnesses and police. The man who is the subject of the arrest warrant application is not identified by name in the police report provided to The Day.

According to the arrest warrant application, Ledyard police Sgt. Ryan A. Foster responded the evening of Feb. 5 to a report of “a large disturbance” during the game in the Ledyard High School gym. He was told while traveling to the school that it involved parents of the Ledyard and Bacon Academy girls basketball teams, and parents of Bacon Academy, the town of Colchester's high school, were refusing to leave the gym.

When Foster arrived, he saw a large group of Bacon Academy parents on the front steps of the high school, and found the group was being “loud and obnoxious but did not seem to be arguing,” and the Ledyard parents were in the gym, according to the document. Police officers told the Bacon Academy parents to begin to leave. Bacon Academy players left the high school to board the bus, and once the bus left, parents started to exit the parking lot.

According to the document, a few moments later, several Ledyard parents, who “were visibly upset and shaken,” left the school. A parent told James Buonocore, athletic director and assistant principal at Ledyard High School, that what was said in the gym was “uncalled for and unacceptable.” Buonocore said he was aware of what was said and would investigate.

“This was the first time that officers had learned that disparaging racial remarks were used towards the Ledyard girls basketball team,” the application stated. “Unfortunately at this point almost all of the Bacon Academy parents and student athletes had already left the area.”

According to the police report, on the Monday after the game, another police sergeant contacted Taylor Gunning, a Bacon Academy alumni who had posted on Facebook. Gunning told police that after the game, she heard Bacon Academy parents arguing with Buonocore. Buonocore had said he was calling the police and parents seemed to be leaving the gym. Gunning said she then distinctively heard the n-word at one point in what seemed like a conversation between people. Gunning said she believed she knew who said it, but was unable to say with complete certainty and wanted to err on the side of caution and not make the allegation about who specifically said it.

Gunning also said she knew a Ledyard parent had a video that she believed had a fan yelling the n-word during the game.

According to the report, police then spoke to Ledyard High School administrators on Feb. 9. William Turner, an assistant principal at the high school, compiled “video coverage of the entire incident that occurred during and after the basketball game.” The video, which did not have sound, showed “three Bacon Academy parents and a group of high school aged males that appear to be the instigators of the incident.” The video shows the three Bacon Academy parents arguing in the hallway outside the gym with Ledyard parents and individuals who were apparently Ledyard students who did not play in the game.

Two of the Bacon Academy parents — a man and a woman — are seen walking to their vehicle and then arguing with a man, woman and an individual who appeared to be their juvenile daughter. The vehicle, being driven by the male Bacon Academy parent, described as a man in a white hat, almost hit the juvenile as it backed out to leave, according to the report.

Foster on Feb. 11 spoke to a father and daughter. According to the arrest warrant application, the daughter said she and her teammates were walking to the locker room after the basketball game, when they saw a small group of Bacon Academy parents being loud in the stands. She heard someone in the group say n-words, but was unable to see who exactly the person was.

According to the document, Foster talked to two other basketball players and their parents on Feb. 11, and the basketball players said they did not hear any racial statements made toward them or their teammates but “did mention a tall black male with the Bacon Academy parents who asked some of the girls if they were going to retaliate.” One of the individuals interviewed said they heard Buonocore telling Bacon Academy Coach John Shea that what his fans said was unacceptable.

Foster obtained statements at Ledyard High School on Feb. 17 from three Ledyard basketball players.

According to the report, one Ledyard basketball player said she did not hear racial comments from players during the game. Toward the end of the game, she saw a man and woman on the Bacon Academy side yell at a referee and call the Ledyard players “cheaters.” She also heard Bacon Academy parents say “Let’s kick their asses” as the Ledyard players walked to the locker room. She said Buonocore told the girls to stay in the locker room until the crowd could leave. A teammate’s mother later yelled at Buonocore about calling the police.

According to another Ledyard player's statement, when walking toward the locker room, someone whose name was redacted in the report told another player that a Bacon Academy parent just referred to the Ledyard girls as n-words. The person with the redacted name said she looked up and saw a small group of parents and a white male staring down, and she assumed he was the one who said the racist slur. She watched the LHS CCTV coverage of the end of the game and pointed to the man, in a white hat, who was standing in the area where she heard the slur, but since she was not 100% confident he was the one who said it, she declined to identify him.

Another Ledyard player said she was walking past a section of parents after the game and observed Buonocore asking the Bacon Academy parents to leave the gym, according to the document. She then looked at the Bacon Academy parents remaining in the stands and heard a parent say “Not these (n-words)."

The report states that player saw the man who made the slur and she “was very emotional after hearing the slur as she has been a victim of racial bias in the past and reported to Buonocore who told her that everything would be figured out." She went with Buonocore to watch the LHS CCTV of the end of the game and was able to identify the man who said the slur as a man wearing a white hat.

Police met with the man, whose name was redacted in the report, on April 15 for an interview at the Ledyard Police Department, but when informed he was a suspect, the man said he was not aware he was a suspect and declined an interview without an attorney present. He said he would reach out to his attorney after Easter and schedule an appointment. The man “was adamant that he never said any racial slur at the game or any other time."

Police, based on the facts and circumstances detailed in the affidavit, believed probable cause existed and requested that a warrant be issued charging him with breach of peace.

After the game in February, Ledyard banned some adult Bacon Academy spectators from Ledyard Public Schools facilities.

Ledyard Superintendent Jason Hartling said last month that whether or not criminal charges were filed, "it doesn't excuse the horrible behavior and impact it had on our students and our community."

"Those who behave in a manner not aligned with our values will not be permitted to attend events at our schools," he said in a message to the school community last month. "Our players, students and communities deserve a place free of hate. Ledyard Public Schools stands with our community against the use of racist and discriminatory language and behavior. If we have any hope of eliminating such derogatory terms and behavior in our society, we must begin in our homes and our schools."

"Using racial slurs around our girls, at our girls or families, is completely unacceptable," Hartling said Friday. "It's beyond disappointing."

Colchester Interim Superintendent Thomas Y. McDowell could not immediately be reached for comment.

Colchester First Selectman Andreas Bisbikos said Friday that after looking at the report, he understands why the investigation took as long as it did.

"I am glad to see that evidence proved Bacon parents did not hurl racial slurs at the Ledyard team as initially reported. As I’ve stated repeatedly racism has no place in Colchester or any other community. The Bacon parents have strongly denied that any sort of racial language was used, and I stand with them. If, however, any sort of racial language was used as the report implies that it might have, even if indirectly — I strongly condemn it in every way imaginable," Bisbikos said in a statement.

"Bacon and Ledyard will cross paths again," he added. "I believe the next step would be to have a meeting with our new interim Superintendent Dr. Tom McDowell, Ledyard Superintendent Jason Hartling, and myself to establish a mechanism to bring the two schools and communities together. I’m willing to extend an olive branch to Mr. Hartling to make that happen."

"We're always willing to work towards improving our communities," Hartling said.

k.drelich@theday.com