Quote:
you have to differenciate (which apparently isn't a word) between using a racial slur as an intentional racial insult and plainly pointing out someone's color.


That's because it's "differentiate". The root is "different", not "difference".

Back on topic. I don't think that, in this instance, calling the perp "black" is any worse than (for example) pointing out that he was driving a white pickup truck. We all like to visualise situations as they're described to us; these details mean that our mental picture is more similar to that of the person telling us the story.

Now, if he'd not mentioned the perp's colour, and your mental picture filled in a specific colour, that might be considered to say something...
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-- roger