September 23, 2007
Summer Crime in P-Town
Provincetown police investigate possible hate crimes
Local police are investigating three incidents this summer as possible hate crimes aimed at gay men.
Off-Cape resident Richard Hall, a gay man, was allegedly assaulted at around 12:45 a.m. on Sept. 10 near Court and Commercial streets after being called a “faggot.”
A second gay man, Daniel Coburn, 42, of East Hartford, Conn., has told police he and others were called “faggots” by a young man on June 30, also near Court and Commercial streets. The alleged perpetrator also pushed other people, threatened Coburn and threw rocks at others, according to Coburn.
In the third incident under police scrutiny, two gay men were allegedly hit with bikes in late August by a group of local youths, Provincetown police Sgt. Carrie Lopes said.
Provincetown, which has a year-round population of around 3,400, is home to many gay men and lesbians, and attracts a substantial number of gay tourists.
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The last hate crime in Provincetown was in 2004, down from 21 in 1991, according to town records and the police. The town averages about five hate incidents a year, Lopes said.
Filed under: Hate Crimes, Massachusetts
