Police say harbor drowning not likely a hate crime

Police say after questioning a suspect and witnesses they do not believe a Vietnamese man who drowned after being pushed into a Lake Michigan harbor was the victim of a hate crime.

"It just appears to be kind of a random act," said Lt. Anthony Riccio, whose detectives are conducting the investigation of Saturday's drowning of 62-year-old Du Doan.

Earlier, police said there was a "strong possibility" the drowning was a hate crime because Doan, another man who was confronted by the same group earlier that morning and a man who was pushed into the water weeks earlier all were Asian or had Asian features.

Riccio said investigators now consider one of the people previously characterized as "persons of interest" a suspect in Doan's death. But he said as of early Tuesday afternoon, no charges had been filed.

Doan was fishing by himself from the sidewalk at Montrose Harbor on the city's North Side early Saturday when he was pushed into the water. Riccio said he was pushed by one man who broke away from a group and shoved Doan in the back.

Doan, who could not swim, quickly drowned.

Riccio did say the suspect in Doan's death was involved in two other incidents involving fishermen, one just a short time before Doan drowned.

In the other Saturday morning incident, police said a group confronted another man. But the man did not back away and the group spit at his feet and left him alone.

A few weeks earlier, a man with Asian features was pushed into the water by a man who matches the description of the suspect allegedly involved in Doan's death. The man swam to shore and did not report the incident until he heard about Doan's death, police said.

The drowning prompted police to issue a community alert warning fishermen to be careful and for people using the lakefront early in the morning or late in the evening not to travel alone.