OVERLAND PARK — A white Kansas City, Mo., firefighter has been acquitted of spitting on a black 3-year-old at a suburban Hooters restaurant, uttering a racial slur and threatening the child’s grandfather.

The Kansas City Star reports that 42-year-old Terrence “Jeremy” Skeen was found not guilty Wednesday of battery, assault and disorderly conduct in Overland Park Municipal Court. Judge Cynthia Cornwell said that the witness statements were incomplete and contradictory.

Surveillance video was shown but didn’t capture the key portions of what prosecutors alleged happened in February when the toddler wandered away from a birthday celebration.

Skeen denied in court using a racial slur and spitting on the child, but acknowledged a hostile exchange with the boy’s grandfather. He has kept his job while the case works through the courts.