A boy who punched a classmate after he uttered a racial slur should not have been criminally charged, York Region's police chief said Wednesday.

Police Chief Armand La Barge said racism was not at the root of a fist fight between the two boys, but rather it was a competitive game of speedball.

He told reporters at a news conference Wednesday morning that he is recommending to the Crown that a charge of assault be dropped.

The fight between the 15-year-old Keswick High School students made media headlines, sparked a student protest and allegations of a hate crime.

About 400 students walked out of classes after a student of Korean descent was suspended and charged with assault after he punched a classmate who reportedly uttered a racist comment.

Students told police the student was the victim of racism and bullying but further police investigation found that that was not the case, La Barge said.

The police chief said at a news conference Wednesday morning that the fight between the two boys was consensual and that it erupted after a dispute during a speedball game in gym class.

The fight started after one of the boys tripped during a speedball game. The boy pushed a student on the opposing team in retaliation. The pushing, shoving and swearing continued after the game was over and the students were helping the gym teacher collect the equipment. During the altercation, one of the boys uttered a racial epithet.

The Korean boy was punched and suffered a cut to his lip. He then punched the other boy in the face, breaking his nose, La Barge said.

La Barge said both boys immediately apologized to each other after the fight without any prompting from adults.

"When he saw how much blood there was, the boy immediately apologized to the other boy and asked if he was okay. He also grabbed towels to help stop the bleeding," La Barge said. "The other boy also apologized for the racial comments he made and for his part in the fight."

Despite the boys' apologies, the school principal called police as he is mandated to do whenever a student suffers a serious injury that requires hospitalization.

Police interviewed the boys and charged the Korean boy with assault causing bodily harm.

The boy who suffered a broken nose also refused to give police a statement when they arrived at his home the next day. With his parents in tow, he told them he was sorry for what he said to his classmate and did not want to press any charges against him, La Barge said.

La Barge chastised officers, saying he was "not satisfied" with the first investigation into the incident. He said that although there had proper grounds to lay the assault charge, police did not conduct a thorough enough investigation before laying the charge.

La Barge ordered a second probe into the fight on April 28 -- a week after the fight took place at Keswick High School on April 21.

Police interviewed 35 people who either witnessed the fight or investigated the incident afterwards.

"The investigation revealed that both boys are good students with no history of discipline issues, no history of bullying by either boy," he said. "The boys hardly knew each other. The only class they have in common is phys-ed."

The chief said he can't take back the assault charge because the Crown has the authority over charges once they've been laid.

However, he has consulted with the Crown Attorney in the case and has asked him to reconsider the charge at the boy's court hearing on May 13.