A crowd of about 50 turned up for what was to be a passionate forum at the William Way LGBT Community Center last week.
Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club hosted its annual meeting and community forum on Jan. 20 — this time focusing on community safety.
Before turning to the forum, Liberty City co-chairs Tony Campisi and Anne Wakabayashi welcomed the election of Jim Kenney as mayor of Philadelphia and the election of the first openly gay public official in Montgomery County, Dan Clifford, who was sworn in Jan. 6 as a judge of the county’s Court of Common Pleas.
Liberty City re-elected incumbents Angela Giampolo and Lauren Vidas onto the board and also elected two new members: Marion Leary and Ali Perelman. An award was given to outgoing board member Sara Jacobson, who served on the board of Liberty City for six years.
“Sara did a fantastic job as co-chair and we will miss her guidance, leadership and thoughtfulness on the board,” Campisi said.
After the organization’s business, the meeting turned to the safety forum. The discussion featured panelists Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams; assistant district attorney and chief of the Central Division Bureau Michael Barry; special advisor to the district attorney Michael Weiss; and Deputy Commissioner Myron Patterson, who filled in for Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross, who was unable to attend the forum due to last-minute scheduling conflicts.
Barry prosecuted the defendants in the 2014 gay-bashing case, in which gay couple Zachary Hesse and Andrew Haught was attacked in Center City by Bucks County residents Kevin Harrigan, Philip Williams and Kathryn Knott. Barry responded to community concerns about the plea deals offered to Harrigan and Williams.
“We’re bound by rules of criminal procedure,” Barry said, referring to the popular opinion that the defendants’ sentencing was “a little too lenient.”
Barry told Liberty City members he was involved in the case since the beginning, and said the several weeks it took to bring Knott, Harrigan and Williams in for arraignment is one that is “common in the city of Philadelphia.”
“It actually isn’t unusual,” he said. “There are reasons why we aren’t out in the community, discussing investigations every step of the way. If stuff gets out to the press, it could taint what witnesses know, what witnesses say and cause defendants to act in a manner to try and avoid prosecution.”
Barry said both Hesse and Haught were in a positive position to identify their attackers. There were at least four eyewitnesses police interviewed — one who saw the fight from a nearby building and several others who saw the incident as or after it happened.
Barry said not every person in the defendants’ group — about 15 people — participated in the altercation. Witnesses said around 10 members of the group stood back and didn’t get involved.
The three who were arrested were the ones investigators had credible evidence were involved, he added.
“We can’t just have a feeling that someone was involved,” he said.
Barry said the incident changed the lives of Hesse and Haught, who had asked for the case not to go to trial.
“They were pretty adamant for a number of reasons. Every time there was another detail about the case, they had six or seven reporters outside of their house,” he said. “They are very private people and were really concerned about going through it all and what would happen.”
Harrigan and Williams accepted plea deals in the fall.
Harrigan pleaded guilty to simple assault and conspiracy and was sentenced to three years’ reporting probation, 200 hours of community service at an LGBT organization and restitution of $314. Williams pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy and was sentenced to five years’ reporting probation, 200 hours of community service to be carried out at an LGBT organization and restitution of $627.
Both are also prohibited from entering Center City Philadelphia throughout the duration of their probation.
Barry said attorneys for the pair contacted his office saying they’re having difficulty finding an LGBT organization in Bucks County to perform their community service. He asked audience members for suggestions and said, if a venue in Bucks County can’t be located, allowances will be made for a Philadelphia site.
Knott chose to take her case to trial and was convicted of simple assault, conspiracy and two counts of reckless endangerment. She is free on bail until her Feb. 8 sentencing.
Concern over race in this and other cases were raised, with Liberty City members questioning if the outcome for Knott, Williams and Harrigan would have been different if the case involved people of color or inner-city residents.
Williams said he recognizes that violence toward the LGBT community is not just a Center City issue. Barry added he is confident that the case’s handling and Knott’s verdict were race-neutral.
Weiss, a member of Liberty City and former treasurer for the organization, talked about the strides the city has taken to protect all LGBT citizens, which was greeted with some criticism from Liberty City members.
“How many of the panelists speak Spanish?” asked one member. “The Latino community and LGBTQ Latinos are not represented.”
Williams added he has Spanish-speaking individuals in his office.
For more information on Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club, visit www.libertycity.org.