Posts Tagged ‘Brett Parson’
Who Botched the Gender Identity of a D.C. Homicide Victim?
Vigil attendees pay their respects to Tyli’a Mack.
On Wednesday, Aug. 26, one person was killed and another critically injured in a daytime stabbing outside 209 Q St. NW. In the hours following the homicide, police and reporters gathered witness testimony, formed a description of the suspect, and chased likely motives. This time, cops and journalists were also forced to devote resources to another developing story: the gender of the victims.
Within three hours of the incident, three local news sources had independently verified the victims’ gender identity with police. They all got it wrong.
Fox 5 news reporter Roby Chavez gave this report at 3:59 p.m., about an hour and a half after the stabbings occurred. “D.C. Police sources tell Fox 5 officers found two transgender male victims in front of the building when they arrived,” Chavez reported.
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GLBT Activists Meet With Fenty on Hate Crimes
Today, Mayor Adrian Fenty took a break from his pre-inaugural planning blitz to meet with the co-chairs of GLOV (Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence), Chris Farris and Todd Metrokin about what GLOV says is a crises-point in hate-bias related crimes against the gay community. Fenty and GLOV were joined by Police Chief Cathy Lanier and MPD Gay and Lesbian Liason Unit Sergeant Brett Parson. Farris and Metrokin had been petitioning for a meeting with the mayor for months, tapping allies in the D.C. Council, making calls to the Mayor’s office, and organizing an extended letter-writing campaign. They finally got their audience today GLOV’s report of the meeting is after the jump.
Tony Hunter Case: What Makes a Hate Crime?
On Wednesday, 18-year-old Robert Hanna was arrested in relation to the September death of Tony Randolph Hunter. Hanna is being charged with voluntary manslaughter in the death of Hunter, a gay man, but some community members are more concerned with a charge that hasn’t been levied against Hanna: “Hate crime.” The Sept. 7 attack on Hunter—along with several other recent acts of violence against gays—has galvanized D.C. GLBT activists, many of whom are referring to the incident as a “hate crime“—even as D.C. Police classify it otherwise.
In a Wednesday press conference, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier stated that as far as MPD and the U.S. Attorney’s Office is concerned, the Hunter case is not a hate crime. In a statement, Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit (GLLU) Community Outreach Specialist Matt Ashburn wrote, “Of particular interest to members of the GLBT community, Chief Lanier stated the case was thoroughly reviewed by prosecutors at the United States Attorney’s Office and there is no evidence to support a hate crime enhancement.”
Lanier also noted that investigators in the case have ruled out another suspected motive: robbery. MPD is now describing the events leading to Hunter’s death simply as an “altercation between Mr. Hunter and Mr. Hanna.”
But with the robbery motive abandoned, how is it decided whether or not an “altercation” is motivated by hate?
