Jan 23, 2008 6:51 pm US/Eastern
Woman: I Was Attacked For Being Transgendered
Reporting
Adam May
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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Attacks against minorities are on the rise, but experts disagree when it comes to how much.
CBS
Attacks against minorities are on the rise, but experts disagree when it comes to how much.
Adam May reveals why state and federal statistics are different and why hundreds of local cases might go unreported.
On her way to buy some orange juice, 26-year-old Pamela Brown, who started living as a woman three years ago, said she was viciously attacked because she is transgendered.
"I saw five guys blocking the storeway. They called me a [expletive deleted] and then I was hit. Then I was attacked by two more guys from the back and my fiance ran over," she said. "I probably could have been killed if I was by myself."
Brown is now recovering while in protective police custody.
Meanwhile, two young men have been arrested near the Old Town Mall in Baltimore where the beating occurred.
Police commented on the attack last week.
"More than likely it will be upgraded to a hate crime, simply because of the things that were being said," said Troy Harris, Baltimore City Police spokesperson.
But now the city state's attorney's office is not pursuing hate crime charges. Why?
A spokesperson says while there was provocative language, it is free speech and there's no evidence of premeditation.
Nationally, hate crimes are up more than seven percent. In Maryland, law enforcement agencies around the state reported more than 200 hate crimes to the FBI in 2006. But there were actually more than 500 incidents of hate.
According to Gary Monroe, who tracks data for the state's Commission on Human Relations, "We have a lot of jurisdictions in the state of Maryland that do not report hate-related incidents the way they should."
Police agencies are supposed to fill out forms when there's a hate incident.
Eyewitness News discovered some jurisdictions, like Baltimore County, turn in dozens a year but others, like Baltimore City, only report a small handful.
Monroe questions the accuracy.
"No one wants their jurisdiction or county to look bad and make it look like an unsafe place to live in Maryland," he said.
Victims like Pamela worry the truth isn't getting out.
"It's very hard for people to accept individuals, but we are all equal," she said. "I just hope that this situation don't happen to no one else."
Investigators say the suspects admitted to attacks but blamed it on alcohol.
Meanwhile, the state's Commission on Human Relations says they're trying to get all jurisdictions to improve reporting and prosecution, but they meet a lot of resistance.
Race is the most common hate crime motivation. But in Maryland, religion and sexual orientation are the fastest-growing causes.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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