February 26, 2008

Ft. Lauderdale Cops Hesitate to Call Blatant Gay-Bash A Hate Crime

The incident occurred Sunday morning outside The Floridian at 1410 E. Las Olas Blvd.

The couple and a friend sat down to breakfast about 3 a.m. at an outdoor table. They ordered sandwiches, tea and juices.

A man got out of his pickup truck, walked by them and promptly began yelling slurs at the trio — Melbourne Brunner, his partner Mitchell Mart and a friend visiting from out of town.

“He was yelling, ‘Faggot, were you looking at me, if you were, I’m going to come back there and break your neck. That’s what I do to faggots’ and then he twisted his hands together,” Mart recalled.

. . .

The men started to get into their car, which was parked two feet from the table, when the pickup driver said, “‘That’s what faggots do, they run,’” Mart said.

As Brunner tried to climb into the passenger seat, the man punched him several times, pushing the car door on him. Brunner fell to the ground, striking his head.

. . .

The man ripped off his shirt and threw it over [his license plate] as he yelled, “I’ll kill you before you get my tag number!”

. . .

Brunner suffered severe bruising, which has spread, Mart said Tuesday afternoon as they prepared for another doctor visit. Brunner did not suffer any broken bones. “His jaw is out of wack,” said Mart, a retired dentist.

“Everyone was just sort of in shock. We were traumatized,” he said.

. . .

Police are treating the incident as a battery and looking into the possibility that it may have been a hate crime.

. . .

Fort Lauderdale, known for being one of the most gay-friendly communities in the country, has had an increasing number of violent acts committed against members of the gay community in the last year.

That coupled with controversial comments from long-time Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle. …

. . .

…[L]ately there have been the violent overshadows: just last week, Simmie Williams, a 17-year-old boy, was murdered at the corner of Sistrunk Boulevard and 10th Avenue. He was wearing women’s clothes. …