Alleged
hate-crime victims sue Rochester, N.Y., police

Police in Rochester, N.Y., are being sued by four alleged victims of a hate-motivated assault who say officers ridiculed them with gay slurs and treated them with "deliberate indifference," according to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle's Web site.

The lawsuit claims that Rochester police "treated the plaintiff's complaints of harassment differently from other types of harassment for an extended period of time, thus failing to protect the plaintiffs," the article reports.

The mistreatment charge follows a June 1 incident in which the alleged victims say four people punched them, kicked them, and struck them with a metal rod and verbally abused them with antigay epithets. There were a total of eight alleged victims in two groups, in a mix that included men and women, gays and straights.

Police officers arrived and eventually let the attackers go, though confrontations broke out between law enforcement and the victims, who claim, according to the article, that at least two officers used gay slurs before arresting three of them.

The lawsuit was filed by Dave Greenlaw, Josh Lieberman, Megan Barrett, and Christine Herrick. During the confrontation with police, Greenlaw called 911 and claimed that the attending police were not taking action. According to the lawsuit, a sheriff's deputy responded to the call but said there was nothing else that could be done and left the scene.

The incident is still being investigated by police, who continue their internal affairs investigation and probes of four suspects. (The Advocate)