Bias incident still not reported
A brutal assault against two gay men last year hasn’t been reported as a bias incident by the Philadelphia Police Department, according to information posted on the Pennsylvania State Police website.
On Sept. 11, two gay men walking in Center City were attacked by three people after being asked if they were a couple. The victims were punched in the face, head and chest, and sustained multiple injuries, requiring transportation to a hospital.
One of them suffered two broken cheekbones, and his jaw was wired shut for about two months.
A preliminary investigation indicated the incident was motivated by antigay bias. It prompted Philadelphia City Council to enact tougher penalties for crimes based on anti-LGBT animus.
But Philadelphia police haven’t reported the Sept. 11 assault as a bias incident to the Pennsylvania State Police. It’s too late for the incident to be included in the FBI’s annual hate-crimes report. But if it’s reported to the state police by December, it can be included in the FBI’s internal database of bias incidents.
A Philadelphia Police spokesperson couldn’t be reached for comment.
The FBI offers training to law-enforcement agencies that aren’t reporting bias incidents in a reasonable manner, according to its website.
Inmate files federal lawsuit
Kenneth J. Houck Jr., an openly gay inmate who was assaulted while reading an LGBT novel, is suing in federal court for $1 million in damages.
In 2011, two inmates at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia entered Houck’s cell and assaulted him, causing multiple fractures to Houck’s right leg.
Houck recently filed a lawsuit against the federal Bureau of Prisons, alleging cruel and unusual punishment, deliberate indifference, neglect, defamation and retaliation. He contends the prison system hasn’t provided adequate medical care for his injuries, and he’s often in “agonizing” pain.
He also claims a prison staffer uttered defamatory statements about him, placing him in danger of additional physical assaults by inmates.
The matter has been assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Gordon P. Gallagher, who’s based in Grand Junction, Colo.
In 2011, Houck pleaded guilty to one county of transporting child pornography, and remains incarcerated in a federal prison in Littleton, Colo.
Ed Ross, a BOP spokesperson, declined to comment for this story.
Houck’s scheduled release date is May 18, 2018.
Open-records office posts guidance
The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records has posted guidance on its website for agencies that have been asked to provide certified copies of records.
The guidance includes a sample form for agencies to use when they provide certified copies of records to a requester.
The guidance is timely, as PGN has requested certified records from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office pertaining to the Nizah Morris incident.
So far, the D.A.’s Office hasn’t provided the requested records. But in a May 29 letter, the office indicated it would have more information about PGN’s request by June 29.
Morris was a transgender woman found with a fatal head wound in 2002, shortly after a “courtesy ride” from Philadelphia police. Her homicide remains unsolved.
The certified records requested by PGN could clarify why an officer involved in the courtesy ride didn’t respond to Morris after her head injury for about three hours. By the time the officer responded, Morris was brain-dead.
Teen to be deposed in bullying case
A teenager who allegedly suffered antigay bullying while a student at the Pennsauken School District will be deposed by attorneys for the district in August, a federal judge has ordered.
The teenager, known only as “D.V.” in court papers, will be deposed on Aug. 20, according to a June 12 order by U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider.
D.V.’s uncle, Thomas Vandergrift, will be deposed on Aug. 4, and D.V.’s grandparents will be deposed on Aug. 18, according to the order.
District officials allegedly accused Vandergrift of molesting D.V. after Vandergrift advocated for a proper education for his nephew.
Vandergrift denies the molestation accusations and is suing in federal court for an unspecified amount in damages, along with policy changes within the district.
Neither side had a comment for this update.
— Timothy Cwiek