James
Carter
says
he
wanted
to
scream
as
five
or
six
young
men
took
turns
kicking
and
punching
him
while
he
lay
on
the
ground,
but
he
was
too
afraid
to
call
for
help.
“I
was
scared
to
open
my
mouth
because
I
didn’t
want
them
to
kick
any
of
my
teeth
loose,”
said
Carter,
a
29-year
old
gay
man
who
was
brutally
attacked
in
Southwest
Atlanta
in
the
early
hours
of
Oct.
22.
The
incident
took
place
five
minutes
south
of
downtown
in
Atlanta’s
Mechanicsville
neighborhood,
outside
the
GE
Tower
apartment
complex,
which
Carter
described
as
popular
with
gay
and
lesbian
residents.
It
is
one
of
two
weekend
altercations
that
the
Atlanta
Police
Department
is
investigating
as
possible
hate
crimes,
according
to
Officer
Darlene
Harris,
LGBT
liaison
for
APD.
Just
before
midnight
on
Oct.
20,
another
gay
man
pulled
into
his
apartment
complex
on
Cheshire
Bride
and
asked
the
drivers
of
two
cars
that
were
blocking
the
way
to
his
parking
space
to
move.
After
he
parked,
the
gay
man
was
confronted
by
one
of
the
drivers,
who
allegedly
yelled,
“Faggot,
you
don’t
tell
me
what
to
do.”
“I
thought
he
was
just
coming
to
yell
and
be
a
jerk,
but
I
didn’t
think
he
would
get
physical
about
it,”
said
the
gay
man,
who
would
be
interviewed
only
on
the
condition
that
his
name
not
be
published.
The
28-year-old
gay
man
said
he
wishes
he
responded
more
assertively,
and
because
he
didn’t,
he
is
too
embarrassed
to
tell
friends
and
co-workers
about
the
incident.
The
driver
allegedly
continued
to
berate
the
man
with
anti-gay
slurs,
and
pushed
him
to
the
pavement,
causing
scrapes
on
both
of
his
hands.
He
then
fled
the
scene
in
a
black
Mazda
3,
offering
Atlanta
police
their
strongest
evidence
in
the
ongoing
investigation,
Harris
said.
“Like
the
first
case,
we’re
working
off
a
car,”
said
Harris,
who
has
interviewed
the
victims
and
witnesses
in
both
incidents.
Witnesses
outside
the
GE
Tower
said
the
young
men
who
beat
Carter
fled
in
a
black
Crown
Victoria
and
a
silver
Chevy
Impala,
according
to
police
reports.
The
alleged
anti-gay
incidents
came
one
week
after
the
FBI
released
its
hate
crimes
data
for
2005.
Georgia
does
not
have
a
state
hate
crimes
law,
and
law
enforcement
jurisdictions
report
hate
crimes
statistics
to
the
FBI
on
a
voluntary
basis.
Nationally,
sexual
orientation
ranked
third
on
the
list
of
most
common
motivations
for
hate
crimes
reported
to
the
FBI
[See
related
story,
Page
15].
But
sexual
orientation
ranked
first
among
hate
crimes
reported
in
Georgia.
In
the
latest
FBI
data,
three
Georgia
jurisdictions
reported
a
total
of
17
hate
crimes,
including
10
based
on
sexual
orientation.
Atlanta
reported
five
total
hate
crimes,
two
based
on
sexual
orientation;
Fulton
County
reported
four
hate
crimes,
three
based
on
sexual
orientation;
and
the
University
of
Georgia
reported
seven
hate
crimes,
including
five
based
on
sexual
orientation.
Carter,
who
has
lived
at
the
GE
Tower
since
January,
said
he
visited
a
nearby
convenience
store
almost
daily
to
pick
up
cigarettes,
late-night
snacks
and
other
“forget-me-nots.”
He
and
a
friend,
R’heem
Turner,
were
returning
from
their
second
trip
that
night
when
they
passed
five
or
six
young
men
just
outside
the
GE
Tower.
“As
I’m
thinking
they’re
walking
past
me,
I
feel
a
hit
and
they
took
off
from
there,”
Carter
said.
“I
just
felt
fist
and
feet
from
every
direction,
and
that’s
when
I
heard
‘Get
yo
faggot
ass
down,’
and
‘Bitch’
this,
‘bitch’
that.”
One
of
the
young
men,
all
of
whom
Carter
described
as
being
between
17
and
19
years
old,
allegedly
pulled
a
gun
on
Turner
and
threatened
him
not
to
intervene.
Turner,
who
is
gay,
was
eventually
pistol-whipped
and
lost
consciousness.
As
Carter
continued
seeing
his
blood
splash
before
his
eyes,
and
began
to
feel
parts
of
his
face
already
swelling,
he
said
he
kept
wishing
it
was
all
apart
of
some
horrific
nightmare.
“I
kept
saying,
am
I
going
to
wake
up,
because
I
didn’t
believe
it
was
happening,”
Carter
said.
“I
just
didn’t
want
to
die
…
I
couldn’t
think
of
anything
else
but
getting
me
and
my
friend
out
of
there.”
As
they
beat
him,
the
young
men
took
Carter’s
shoes
off
and
attempted
to
strip
him
of
his
pants,
Carter
said.
Although
they
stole
Carter’s
shoes
and
wallet,
along
with
Turner’s
watch,
earrings
and
wallet,
Carter
said
he
and
Turner
were
attacked
for
being
perceived
as
a
gay
couple.
“Being
robbed
seemed
like
it
was
after
the
fact,”
said
Carter,
who
added
that
gay
and
lesbian
residents
...
