Louisiana Dr. Shane McKinney Charged in ‘Racially Motivated’ Attack on Black Woman: Cops

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East Baton Rouge Sheriff\'s Office Dr. Shane McKinney.

Shane Michael McKinney is a 54-year-old doctor in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who has been accused of assaulting a Black female Southern University student-athlete and using a racial epithet during the attack.

McKinney has a math and business background and has been working as a licensed emergency pediatrician since 2018, according to his LinkedIn page.

McKinney’s attorney issued a statement denying any wrongdoing. McKinney’s attorney said:

Dr. Shane McKinney is innocent. Allegations that he threw a punch and made a racially offensive comment are not true and not supported by police action. He was not arrested for any type of hate crime because the evidence does not support it. And the misdemeanor simple battery is based upon his elbow contacting the accuser’s bicep or shoulder as he jogged past her on the narrow sidewalk. A simple battery requires the ‘intentional use of force or violence.’ There was none. The contact was unintentional.

Dr. McKinney’s life and career has been devoted to helping and healing those in need during the most vulnerable times of their lives. He left a career managing people for a major corporation to attend medical school and residency to help people in his and our community. He is a healer and not a harmer. He is sorry for any of his actions that contributed to this circumstance. He has no ill will towards anyone and looks forward to the legal system running its course and for the truth to be fully unveiled.

If anyone in the area has any video from a cell phone or from a home or business surveillance camera, we ask that they please provide this video to law enforcement so the true and accurate account of this incident can be seen.

Here’s what you need to know:


1. McKinney Attended the University of Alabama

McKinney’s LinkedIn page indicates he attended Louisiana State University and obtained a bachelor of science in electrical engineering and a minor in mathematics. He then attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he obtained a master of business administration in the management of technology.

According to LinkedIn, he went on to study medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and received his doctorate there.


2. Mckinney Is a Pediatrician

According to a bio on the website for Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, McKinney “went on to complete his pediatric residency as a physician at Children’s of Alabama Hospital,” where his Linkedin page says he worked from 2012 to 2015. His fellowship in emergency medicine was at Arkansas Children’s Hospital from 2015 to June 2018.

McKinney has been working at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in pediatric emergency medicine since 2018. According to his National Provider Identifier (NPI) information, McKinney’s last certification date was on August 21, 2018.


3. McKinney Was Arrested & Charged With Battery

According to a press release from the Baton Rouge Police, McKinney is accused of being the suspect in an assault in which “a female victim was punched in the chest and verbally assaulted while walking around the lakes near LSU.”

Reporter Scottie Hunter from local news station WAFB tweeted that Baton Rouge police were searching for someone who “allegedly called the victim the N-word, punched and verbally assaulted a female athlete from Southern University while she was jogging near the LSU lakes.”

In that message, Hunter said that police were investigating the incident as a “hate crime.”

McKinney was booked at East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on a single count of simple battery; however, he posted a $10,000 bail and was released, according to the parish prison site.


4. McKinney Has Been Put on Administrative Leave

According to a statement from Our Lady of the Lake released on Facebook, McKinney was placed on “administrative leave.” Here is the full statement:

We don’t tolerate hate, racism or violence by any member of our organization against another person. We take the allegations placed against one of our physicians seriously and understand their gravity. We have placed the physician on administrative leave pending a thorough internal investigation. Based on the outcome of our investigation, we may consider further action. We place the well-being of our patients, teams and community at the forefront of everything we do.

Southern University A&M College’s Athletic Director Roman Banks released a statement on Twitter, which read in part, “We are aware of a reported off-campus verbal and physical interaction involving a female Southern University student-athlete and a bystander. … At this time, we believe the incident was racially motivated and are wholly and completely focused on the safety and well-being of our student-athlete(s).”


5. Some Suggest McKinney’s Arrest Is Evidence of Racism in Louisiana’s Medical Field

According to The Advocate, Scott Wester, the CEO of Our Lady of the Lake health system, sent an email to employees saying, “Baton Rouge police have identified one of our employed physicians as the suspect in an alleged racially motivated attack that surfaced online and in the media Tuesday evening.”

Some on Twitter have posed questions about whether McKinney’s background as a pediatrician should be examined given what he has been accused of doing.

One person on Twitter wrote, “Dr. Shane McKinney 54 of Baton Rouge is proof of the racism in the medical field” and another wrote in a tweet that appears to have since been taken down, “Now imagine what kind of care Black and Brown children receive when seeking help at @ololhealth Children’s Hospital.”

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