Hahn urges Cooley to file hate-crime charges

At a ceremony in West Hollywood, Calif., on Thursday to remember Matthew Shepard, who was murdered in Wyoming four years ago, Los Angeles mayor James K. Hahn called on the Los Angeles County district attorney to reconsider his decision against filing hate-crime charges in a West Hollywood attack last month, the Los Angeles Times reports. Hahn said district attorney Steve Cooley's decision regarding the attack against two gay men on September 1 "sends the wrong message.... If he needs more time to investigate it, take the time and make the decision correctly."

Out gay actor Trev Broudy and Edward Ulett were attacked late September 1 after they embraced outside Broudy's home in West Hollywood. Police say the three suspected attackers beat the men with a baseball bat and metal pipe. The men are then believed to have attacked two other gay men in West Hollywood over the next two weeks. Broudy, who was in a coma after the attack, was hospitalized until this past Thursday. Hahn's comments on Thursday follow similar ones from Los Angeles city council members, West Hollywood city council members, and Los Angeles County sheriff Lee Baca--all urging Cooley to file hate-crime charges in the attack. Cooley has said that he stands by the charges filed and that he won't be swayed by politics in the case.