Assault and robbery - hate crime again on Capitol Hill |
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| Assault and robbery - hate crime again on Capitol Hill | |
| by Mike Andrew -
SGN Staff Writer Seattle resident Jay Lewis was assaulted and robbed on Capitol Hill early Sunday morning, February 2. The incident, which Seattle police are investigating as a bias crime, occurred in front of the Capitol Hill IHOP at 950 E Madison Street. "It was about 2:30 in the morning," Lewis told SGN. "I walked out of the IHOP to call a cab. I noticed a guy walking behind me, and he said 'fucking faggot' as I was walking out toward the street." "I thought the best thing to do was just to get a cab and leave," Lewis continued. "I looked down to dial my phone, and the next thing I knew he was on top of me." Lewis was struck on the face and fell to the pavement. "Then two other guys also jumped me," he added. "I must have been unconscious for 45 minutes to an hour. I woke up in Harborview in the CAT scan [machine]." Soon after regaining consciousness, Lewis discovered he had also been robbed of his wallet. Lewis was told later by the IHOP manager on the scene that police retrieved security camera footage from the restaurant, and subsequently made arrests. This has not been confirmed or denied by the Seattle Police Department. Lewis was interviewed by an officer at the hospital, and was told a detective would be assigned to the case, but he has had no further contact with police. "I have fractures to my left cheek," Lewis told SGN on Tuesday, "and I have abrasions where I hit the pavement." Lewis spoke with SGN again on Thursday after outpatient surgery to repair his cheekbone. "My cheekbone was broken in two," he said. "The pieces were forced inwards, so all they had to do was pop 'em back out. Everyone at Harborview has been excellent, just out of this world. They've been so nice." "I was in the Marines," Lewis said, "so I should have known better than to go out by myself. I just feel so safe in Seattle. I didn't think about it." Lewis is relatively new to Seattle. He moved here in October from Atlanta, where he lived for 12 and-a-half years. He was born in Savannah, Georgia. "I love it here," he told SGN. "There's much more of a community here than there ever was in Atlanta. Everyone has been so nice to me." For some readers, the assault on Lewis - coming soon after the January 15 assault on a Lesbian employee on Broadway and recent threats to poison patrons of 11 Gay bars on Capitol Hill - may bring back memories of the surge in violent hate crimes targeting Gay men in the summer of 2007. That streak of violence prompted City Council members Nick Licata, Tom Rasmussen, and Sally Clark to ask for an investigation of Seattle Police Department reporting and investigation methods. The City's Bias Crimes Audit was released in August 2008. At that time, SPD Capt. Dave Emerick told SGN that SPD assigns its resources on the basis of expected needs. Crimes that are not reported or investigated as bias crimes will result in fewer SPD resources assigned to future bias crime investigation. Emerick's remarks underline the importance of noting and reporting anti-Gay remarks that might accompany the commission of crimes. |
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