NYPD Investigates Alleged Howard Beach Hate Crime

Howard Beach residents are probably shaking their heads over reports of yet another allegedly racially motivated attack in their neighborhood. The police say that a group of white teenagers claims they were attacked by a group, who were made up of Hispanics and blacks.

At Cross Bay Boulevard, a the group of white teens noticed the group of black and Hispanic teens; according to the Post, "The apparent leader of the black group walked up to his white counterpart and circled him while staring menacingly." The following events were described by Police Commissioner Kelly:

"When the black or Hispanic young man leaves the area, as he walks away, eggs are thrown at him. As he walks away, eggs are thrown at him. Again, last night being Halloween. A few minutes later, a group reported to be anywhere from 30 to 40, mostly black and Hispanic, some of them carrying sticks, arrive back and go into a McDonald's where two of the young men apparently from the initial group were assaulted. One was punched in the face, the other one was hit with what appeared to be a stickball bat."

Now, where the hate crime may come in: The mother of a 14-year-old victim told reporters that one of the attackers told her son, "I'm going to kill you white boys. I'm going to kill you white m-----f-----s."

Five people were arrested and charged with gang assault; criminal mischief, and resisting arrest - and they were just 15 and 16 years old. The police are still investigating whether the attack was indeed a hate crime. The recent increase in hate crime complaints has prompted City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and the Reverend Al Sharpton to launch a "Day Out Against Hate" on November 29. Quinn said, "The one way to drown out hate is to have a loud and consistent drum beat for tolerance."

Howard Beach is no stranger to race-related crimes: In 1986, a black man, who was chased by a group of whites into the highway, was killed by a car. And in 2005, a group of white men attacked a group of blacks. The ensuing trial debate the meaning and power of a racial epithet and one of the white attackers was sentenced to 15 years for the hate crime.

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By Jen Chung in News on November 2, 2007 10:01 AM

Comments [rss]

queensfinest817

Listen to this its bullshit i was involved with another inident that happned that night with black kids jumpin us calling us crackers and whiteboys. If we did the same but we called them Black kids or the "n" word it would be a hatecrime without question. I just fond out today that the Case was totally dropped its bullshit...yea tell this to my friend who got a concussion and was in the hospital with amnesia from a blow to the head.

gooden5347

Now lookimg at this situation logically, The story appears to me something like this. There's a group of minorities that slightly outnumbers their white counterparts. They both crossed paths and due to the racially charged aptmosphere of the area, the initial group fight evolved into a racial war. Both groups expressed their problems to one another, and they both appear to come to a standstill; but the minority group is barraged with eggs as they are retreating from the battle grounds. From here a major fight breaks loose and the minority group who now enjoys the rare advantage of being the majority, fucks up the offensive group, not because of who they are or what they look like, but because of what they stand for and what their actions represent. Is this a hate crime??

angry_pickle

So why the heck did the black kid go up to the white kids and circle around them like he is some gorilla in the jungle defending his turf and harem? Ridiculous. Maybe these people should watch some nature shows and maybe they'll realize some of their behavior is exactly like unevolved primates.

rtd2101

"The apparent leader of the black group walked up to his white counterpart and circled him while staring menacingly."

What is this, West Side Story?

The thing about hate crimes is that you have to prove the crime was motivated by racial prejudice. While these guys might hate white people, it seems that in this instance the MOTIVATION for the beating was the egg incident, rather than racial prejudice. From the facts stated in this post, looks like it will be pretty difficult to prove a hate crime. I doubt they will even try to prosecute it as such.

Plus, what the hell is up with McDonalds? Seems like it is a magnet for idiot teenagers looking for a fight. Yet another reason never to go in there.

Albert Sharpton

It was halloween, niggas were just switching roles for the day, it happens annually.

paul

"a group of white men attacked a group of blacks"

not black men?

c00n

Why do the people that have the most kids are the ones that are least able to afford and raise them properly?

TKaisen

Poeple can call it racial...I see pure inmaturity and lack of supervision.

You realize that they let anyone be a parent these days, right? When immature people have kids, the kids tend to not turn out to be pillars of society.

MarilynZ

Need guidance? Immature? Not intentionally race biased?

Please! If the roles were reversed and it was a group of white kids going after a black/hispanic everyone will be screaming racism all over the place and Sharpton's fat head would be out and about.

I hate double standards.

Amanda Harletsch

This kids need some guidance...where are the parents!? Poeple can call it racial...I see pure inmaturity and lack of supervision.

Reality Czech

so if the mother of a 14-year-old victim didn't say the word "white" it wouldn't be a hate crime? Give me a break!

TKaisen

When most people get upset they choose the most hateful words they can think of to hurt someone. I don't feel it was intentionally race based.

That doesn't appear to be the way the law is applied. At least, it hasn't been in the past when the roles are reversed.

HughGass

http://imsorryalsharpton.com

savior78

"When most people get upset they choose the most hateful words they can think of to hurt someone. I don't feel it was intentionally race based.

Ibrahim

www.BehindtheApprovalMatrix.co..."

surely it wasn't. people just "fall" upon these words. humans don't really think, y'know?

i hope you feel the same way when a group of white kids attack a group of blacks/hispanics. how come i never find someone saying the above when it's the other way around?

ps i'm not white. i'm american asian.

BMMDan

where's our good pal Reverend Al?

lrnarabic

When most people get upset they choose the most hateful words they can think of to hurt someone. I don't feel it was intentionally race based.

Ibrahim

www.BehindtheApprovalMatrix.co...

matty

or the university of columbia...at howard beach

matty

It's amazing all the similarities between columbia university vs. howard beach.

maybe they could move columbia to howard beach and call it columbia university of howard beach.