The Lexington News reports an officer has been found guilty of killing his gay lover because he feared the student would reveal their relationship to his wife and family. The officer slashed the students throat and left the young man's body in the yard of a neighbor.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A former Columbia police officer was convicted yesterday of first-degree murder in the death of a gay college student from Kentucky with whom he had an affair.

The jury, brought in from Clay County, Mo., deliberated nine hours before convicting Steven Rios of slashing Jesse Valencia's throat last June. Valencia, 23, of Danville, was attending the University of Missouri-Columbia.Rios, 28, was also convicted of armed criminal action and faces a mandatory sentence of life without parole for the murder conviction.

The jury recommended a 10-year term for armed criminal action. Formal sentencing was set for July 5.

"I hope every day he's in prison, he suffers," said the victim's mother, Linda Valencia of Perryville, Ky. "I never felt compassion for him while I looked at him because he had no compassion for my son."

You can find the full account after the jump...

Gay man injured in new D.C. bias attack

By JOSHUA LYNSEN | Oct 3, 5:47 PM

D.C. police arrested two men today after a gay man was attacked in Georgetown.

Acting police Lt. Brett Parson said the “aggravated assault” occurred near the neighborhood’s canal area around 3 a.m. Parson declined to discuss the circumstances surrounding the attack, but noted it was being handled as a hate crime.

Parson said that police arrested two men soon after the attack. Prosecution was being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which confirmed that both men were in custody today and would be arraigned Saturday.

Parson said the gay man who was injured in the attack was treated and released from a local hospital.

A source familiar with the case told the Blade that the injured man, a 23-year-old Georgetown medical student, was walking along the canal path with a 22-year-old man when two men approached them.

The source said the men, who he described as Muslim and being of “Middle Eastern descent,” asked the other men if they were gay. When one of the men answered yes, the source noted that the man and his companion began using “profane language.”

At one point, the source said, the two men told the gay men, “If you were to do this type of behavior back in our country, you’d be stoned,” and that “a man’s asshole is for shitting not fucking, you fucking faggots.”

Find more after the jump...

Police ‘very close’ to arrests

LOU CHIBBARO JR
Friday, September 26, 2008

Police homicide detectives said they were “very close” this week to arresting one or more suspects in the murder of Tony Randolph Hunter, a gay Maryland man who died after he was attacked near a D.C. gay club.

Assistant D.C. Police Chief Diane Grooms said Monday before a meeting of Gays & Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV) that investigators were “very close to closing” the case.

Find more after the jump...

Hunter died Sept. 17, 10 days after four men attacked him near BeBar.

Grooms and acting Lt. Brett Parson, director of the department’s Special Liaison Units, including the Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, said at the GLOV meeting that police officers stationed near the scene of the Sept. 7 attack against Hunter and his friend, Trevor Carter, saw the attackers fleeing the scene from about one block away.

Grooms and Parson said they could not disclose additional details of the investigation, but noted they were hopeful that arrests would be made soon.

Indictments in N.J. killings

Six defendants were indicted Monday on murder and other charges in the brutal killings of three teenagers last summer in Newark, N.J. A fourth victim survived and two of the suspects are charged with sexually assaulting her.

Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow said yesterday that robbery and gang activity were factors in the case, but she declined to reveal what police think is the motive for the attack.

The Blade has been reporting all along that the real motive for the killings was anti-gay bias. At least two of the victims were gay and sources have told us that jewelry, cell phones and other items of value were found at the crime scene, eliminating the robbery motive. The teens were said to be en route to a Black Gay Pride event in New York.

It’s been more than a year since the grisly murders, the full details of which the Blade and other media outlets have declined to report. And yet in all that time, mainstream media still won’t touch the gay angle. The New York Times mentioned the gay rumors in passing, but local media in New Jersey are colluding with police to cover up the true motive for the attack. If the Blade can uncover sources in Newark — activists, friends, politicians — who knew the victims to be gay and are urging a full investigation of the hate crime angle — then surely the New York Times, the Newark Star-Ledger and other nearby outlets can do the same. I’d be happy to share our sources with them.

Find more after the jump...

Bashing victim publishes photos of injuries

By ZACK ROSEN, Washington Blade

One of three men injured in an Adams Morgan anti-gay attack in July has sparked renewed media interest in the case by releasing photos of his injuries.

In the July 13 incident, three gay men were assaulted by a group of five men who used anti-gay epithets. The Blade covered the attack a week after it happened. This week, the victim released photos of himself that appeared on a blog, thenewgay.net. Since then, local radio station WAMU has covered the story.

The victim in question, who asked to be identified only by his first name Todd, said that he chose to release the graphic photos to raise awareness about homophobia and hate crimes in Washington.

Find more after the jump...

Black Pastor/Police Officer Sues LAPD for Right to Express Hate

Victoria Kim Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Police Department engaged in religious discrimination by disciplining an employee for off-duty remarks made about homosexual acts, an LAPD sergeant has alleged in a lawsuit filed against the city and the department.

In a fall 2006 eulogy delivered at a fellow officer's funeral, Sgt. Eric Holyfield, who also is a pastor, said homosexual acts were "sinful" and an "abomination" and would lead to condemnation in hell, or the "lake of fire," if one did not repent, according to a lawsuit he filed June 19 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

After those comments, LAPD passed him up for promotions and pay raises in retaliation, Holyfield alleges in the suit, saying that he was discriminated against for his religion and that his 1st Amendment rights were violated.

Cmdr. Stuart Maislin, head of LAPD's risk-management office, said the department's ability to control an off-duty officer's speech is a "very gray area." But remarks by officers may raise red flags, particularly when bias is expressed against a group of people, Maislin said.

"When it comes to enforcing the law, it has to be done impartially, treating everybody with respect," said Maislin, who declined to comment specifically on Holyfield's case. "We are concerned, clearly, about the type of speech our employees engage in."

Holyfield made the remarks in September 2006 at the Whittier funeral of Officer Nathaniel Warthon Jr., whose family asked the sergeant to deliver a short sermon. Before a large audience inside a chapel, Holyfield identified himself as a sergeant and as the fallen officer's supervisor, according to the suit, but was clad in black clergy attire rather than his uniform.

According to the suit, Holyfield quoted Bible passages and elaborated that "men should not lie with men; women should not lie with women. To do so was an abomination or sinful; one must repent or be condemned to hell."

Holyfield, in the suit, said the words came to him through God in prayer and meditation as he prepared for the sermon.

Among the attendees at the funeral was Deputy Chief Charlie Beck, commanding officer of operations in the South Bureau. Beck, who is named as a defendant, filed a formal complaint against Holyfield after the funeral. The suit alleges that Beck's actions were based on "religious biases."

Beck said he could not discuss the details of the complaint or the pending lawsuit, but said he had heard officers speak at hundreds of other occasions and never felt compelled to initiate a complaint. The suit alleges that as a result of the complaint, Holyfield was removed from his position in community relations, moved back to patrol and passed up for a number of promotions.

Holyfield's supervisor at the time, Capt. James Craig, told Holyfield that his remarks at the funeral created a "buzz" that went "all the way to the top" of the department, according to the suit. Craig, who is named in the suit, declined to comment.

The department has "historically discriminated . . . and continues to discriminate against officers that cite from the Holy Bible," the suit alleges.

Holyfield's attorney, Rochelle Evans Jackson, did not return repeated requests for comment.

The suit seeks back pay, punitive damages and compensation for mental and emotional distress.

Keeping the Bad Guys off the Streets

In Recent News...

The two officers responsible for the severe beating of a Black, transgender woman were fired today after an internal hearing. Former officer Bridges McRae was terminated for beating and verbally assaulting Duanna Johnson while officer James Swain held her down. The entire event was caught on a surveillance camera.

Officer Swain was already on probation and was fired. Memphis Police Association President J.D. Sewell says McRae went into today’s hearing thinking that he would be keeping his job. According to Sewell, McRae says he did nothing wrong.

Duanna Johnson is planning on filing a $1.3 million lawsuit against the city of Memphis.

HRC CALLS FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IN CASE OF POLICE BRUTALITY AGAINST A BLACK TRANSGENDER WOMAN

A newly released video out of Memphis, Tennessee clearly shows a police officer brutally abuse Duanna Johnson as she was held in the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center. Johnson is a transgender woman, and had been arrested on a charge of prostitution.

“This type of profound violence is the exact thing that police officers are supposed to protect people from,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “HRC is calling for a full criminal investigation and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.”

Surveillance video of the incident shows an unidentified officer hit Johnson several times with handcuffs wrapped around his knuckles, as another officer holds Johnson's shoulders as she tries to protect herself. After being struck repeatedly Johnson rose up to protect herself, and was maced in response. Johnson also reports that the officers reportedly called her a “faggot” and “he-she,” before and during the incident.

News reports indicate that a copy of the tape has been reviewed by the FBI and the District Attorney’s office – which has since dropped all charges against Johnson. The FBI investigation into possible civil rights violations is ongoing.
The Memphis Police Department has also reportedly fired the officer who held Johnson while she was struck, and that the officer who actually threw the punches is currently on non-enforcement status pending an administrative hearing.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Transgender Americans are often targeted for hate violence. Hate crimes against transgender people tend to be particularly violent. Bias-motivated violence against transgender people appears to be epidemic, although statistics are not collected on the incidents of violence against transgender people. Crimes against transgender people are under-investigated and under-prosecuted.

Video of the attack can be viewed at (warning, the violence is graphic): http://www.wmctv.com/global/story.asp?s=8515744

HRC Press RELEASE: June 18, 2008

Philly Police Department Make It Safe

In light of Philadelphia's recent and successful gay pride event this last weekend, I thought it appropriate to highlight the great strides the Philadelphia Police Department is making in the protection and safety of LGBT people. The Philly PD, led by Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, has initiated a pro-LGBT program that will focus protection of LGBT individuals in the predominately gay neighborhood, and change the environment and "macho and homophobic" attitudes of his police department.

The gay neighborhood, or affectionately termed the "gayborhood" by the locals, is a geographical area in Philly known for its gay themed commerce and nightlife. Known by its partially rainbow street signs (among other things), the gayborhood is the area of concentration for Ramsey's initiative to protect LGBT people. As advised by his in-house counsel on LGBT affairs, Ramsey will permanently station 2 to 3 officers in the center of the gayborhood. The stationed officers are not required to identify as LGBT because as Ramsey says, "You don't have to be gay to serve the gay community, or black to serve the black community." His officers will be thoroughly trained to deal with and understand the LGBT community because over the next two to three years Ramsey will require his entire Philly PD to attend queer-sensitivity training.
The commissioner insists there is zero tolerance for any kind of discrimination in his department of 6,700. He also acknowledges that unless the culture changes, gay men and lesbians will continue to be reluctant to become police officers.

In a city where homicide rates nearly top the charts, police enrollment is steadily declining and hate crimes are "drastically" under-reported, Ramsey hopes to make a difference from the inside out.

Read More on Ramsey's Pro-Gay actions: http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080609_Making_the_police_safe_for_gay_officers.html