Two anti-gay hate crimes alleged in Atlanta

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James Carter says he wanted to scream as five or six young men took turns kicking and punching him while he lay on the ground, but he was too afraid to call for help. “I was scared to open my mouth because I didn’t want them to kick any of my teeth loose,” said Carter, a 29-year old gay man who was brutally attacked in Southwest Atlanta in the early hours of Oct. 22. The incident took place five minutes south of downtown in Atlanta’s Mechanicsville neighborhood, outside the GE Tower apartment complex, which Carter described as popular with gay and lesbian residents. It is one of two weekend altercations that the Atlanta Police Department is investigating as possible hate crimes, according to Officer Darlene Harris, LGBT liaison for APD.

Just before midnight on Oct. 20,another gay man pulled into his apartment complex on Cheshire Bride and asked the drivers of two cars that were blocking the way to his parking space to move. After he parked, the gay man was confronted by one of the drivers, who allegedly yelled, “Faggot, you don’t tell me what to do.” “I thought he was just coming to yell and be a jerk, but I didn’t think he would get physical about it,” said the gay man, who would be interviewed only on the condition that his name not be published.

The 28-year-old gay man said he wishes he responded more assertively, and because he didn’t, he is too embarrassed to tell friends and co-workers about the incident. The driver
allegedly continued to berate the man with anti-gay slurs, and pushed him to the
pavement, causing scrapes on both of his hands. He then fled the scene in a
black Mazda 3, offering Atlanta police their strongest evidence in the ongoing
investigation, Harris said. “Like the first case, we’re working off a car,” said
Harris, who has interviewed the victims and witnesses in both incidents.
Witnesses outside the GE Tower said the young men who beat Carter fled in a
black Crown Victoria and a silver Chevy Impala, according to police reports.

The alleged anti-gay incidents came one week after the FBI released its
hate crimes data for 2005. Georgia does not have a state hate crimes law, and
law enforcement jurisdictions report hate crimes statistics to the FBI on a
voluntary basis. Nationally, sexual orientation ranked third on the list of most
common motivations for hate crimes reported to the FBI. But sexual orientation
ranked first among hate crimes reported in Georgia. In the latest FBI data,
three Georgia jurisdictions reported a total of 17 hate crimes, including 10
based on sexual orientation.

Atlanta reported five total hate crimes, two based on sexual orientation; Fulton
County reported four hate crimes, three based on sexual orientation; and the
University of Georgia reported seven hate crimes, including five based on sexual
orientation. Attacked near ‘safe haven’ Carter, who has lived at the GE Tower
since January, said he visited a nearby convenience store almost daily to pick
up cigarettes, late-night snacks and other “forget-me-nots.” He and a friend,
R’heem Turner, were returning from their second trip that night when they passed
five or six young men just outside the GE Tower. “As I’m thinking they’re
walking past me, I feel a hit and they took off from there,” Carter said. “I
just felt fist and feet from every direction, and that’s when I heard ‘Get
yo faggot ass down,’ and ‘Bitch’ this, ‘bitch’ that.”

One of the young men, all of whom Carter described as being between 17 and 19 years old,
allegedly pulled a gun on Turner and threatened him not to intervene. Turner, who is gay,was eventually pistol-whipped and lost consciousness. As Carter continued seeing his blood splash before his eyes, and began to feel parts of his face already swelling, he said he kept wishing it was all apart of some horrific nightmare.
“I kept saying, am I going to wake up, because I didn’t believe it was happening,” Carter said. “I just didn’t want to die … I couldn’t think of anything else but getting me and my friend out of there.”
As they beat him, the young men took Carter’s shoes off and attempted to strip him of his pants,
Carter said. Although they stole Carter’s shoes and wallet, along with Turner’s watch, earrings and wallet, Carter said he and Turner were attacked for being perceived as a gay couple. “Being robbed seemed like it was after the fact,” said Carter, who added that gay and lesbian residents occasionally evoke giggles or catcalls from younger neighbors. After the attack, Carter was able to run toward a friend’s house, causing the young men to flee in the opposite direction. The two victims were taken to Grady Hospital and released the same day, but a bruised and battered
Carter said he remains too shaken to return to the apartment complex he once considered a tiny gay oasis. “In a way it has been a safe haven — you walked around there and you knew it’s other people like you on every floor you go to,” Carter said. “I hate that I still have a couple of friends who live over it’s scary.”

There — Carter, who asked that his photo not be published while his assailants remain at-large, said he also gets scared when it’s time for him to sleep, which he cannot do without taking pain medication. “It’s hard for me because I was conscious the whole time,” he said. “I jump a lot when I’m trying to sleep — it’s fresh to me, and I keep seeing it.” Harris said she hopes the
number of suspects and young male bravado will help police track down the young men. “You have six or seven people somebody is going to talk and tell someone they who did this — did this,” Harris said.

Neighbor offers no help The gay victim in the Oct. 20 incident said he now wants to move from his apartment at The Heights at Cheshire Bridge as soon as possible. One of the most disturbing aspects of the evening was when one of the gay man’s neighbors opened the door during the altercation. The gay man asked his neighbor to call 911, but said the neighbor simply closed the door. “That’s what pissed me off the most,” the gay man said. “I just feel like if your neighbors are going to open the door and shut it on you, it tells me the people there don’t care, and I just don’t feel comfortable there anymore.”

Southern Voice