Newspaper Page Text
NEWS
Krystal Security Guard
Attacks Midtown Woman
Other police-related harassment rates high
on list of reported bias incidents
by Andrea K. Brown
Atlanta—Early Friday morning, August
3, 22-year old Kris Hunt was allegedly
attacked without provocation by an off-duty
Fulton County Deputy at the Krystal
Restaurant on Ponce de Leon Ave. Hunt was
then booked in the Fulton County Jail on
charges of abusive language, trespassing,
and obstruction of justice.
The officer, who refused to identify him
self as anything other than "Deputy" to wit
nesses, was working at the Krystal as a secu
rity guard. The arresting officer was listed in
Fulton County records as Deputy Rodney
Watson.
A complaint against the officer filed with
the Fulton County Sheriffs Department by
witness Leon Lodge asserts: "In her conver
sation with her friends, [Hunt] said the word
'shit'.... The Deputy shouted to her, 'Don't
use that language in here.' She replied, OK
man, but you don't have to holler at me." He
then "ordered [her], loudly, ...to get out of
the store." According to witnesses, Hunt was
then grabbed by the neck, dragged outside,
and knocked onto the ground by Watson.
Leon Lodge and friend Shaun Steward
say they heard the officer mutter "bulldag-
ger" in reference to Hunt, before the con
frontation. Hunt claims that Watson later
said,"I’ll kill you, you damn dyke," as he
was holding her by the throat.
After releasing Hunt, Watson apparently
went inside to call the Atlanta police. When
they arrived however, Hunt says Watson told
them to go away, then took her inside and
called his own department.
Hunt was booked with the Fulton County
Sheriffs Department, not with the Atlanta
police, even though the arrest took place
within city limits.
This circumstance appears "highly
improper," according to attorney, Judd
Herndon. Also, says Herndon, an off-duty
officer may detain, but may not arrest a sus
pect.
Further, Herndon asserts that the pre
liminary hearing should have been held
within 48 hours of arrest. According to
Hunt, her hearing had been scheduled for
Kris Hunt displays shirt torn
in the attack.
August 4, but at her inquiry, officers at the
jail told her the date had been changed.
At the hearing, on Monday, August 6, the
charges were dismissed by Fulton County
Magistrate Court Judge Joann Bayneum.
Records do not indicate on what grounds the
case was dismissed, and Judge Bayneum
was unavailable for comment.
While in the Fulton County jail,
Hunt—who has chronic asthma—had sever
al asthma attacks, but was not provided with
medical attention or medicine, apparently
because there was no doctor on duty. Hunt's
roommate, Stephanie Gillespie, was unable
to locate her to give her money and other
needed items until Sunday, because the jail
had no record for her until that time.
"She was guilty until she could prove
herself innocent—and then they went ahead
and threw it out," declares Gillespie.
Hunt lost one of her part-time jobs
because of the arrest, and says she needs
medical attention for her back because of the
attack. Hunt and Gillespie are presently try
ing to find an attorney to represent them in a
civil suit, but do not have the money for the
retainer fee most lawyers require. They are
also filing a complaint against the officer
with the Fulton County Sheriff's
Department's Internal Affairs division.
Having moved here from Houston last year,
the two are surprised at the level of preju
dice they have encountered in Atlanta.
Mike Hewling, a representative for
Krystal, calls the incident "unfortunate," but
maintains that further investigation is neces
sary to ascertain the facts before he can
make additional comment. .
A total of ten bias-related incidents
have been reported to the Atlanta Lesbian
and Gay Police Advisory Committee since
July 1; three additional incidents have been
reported to Southern Voice in that time.
Most serious of these incidents is the
July 13 gay-related homicide of Chris
Robertson in a boarded-up Grant Park
house. Robertson, 52, was an employee of
the Georgia Department of Human
Resources. Readers with information about
Robertson are asked to call the Homicide
Task Force at 658-6818.
Other incidents include an arson, five
cases of harassment, four cases of
verbal/physical abuse related to police and
one case of verbal/physical abuse not related
to police.
"Most remarkable so far," according to
Cathy Woolard of the Police Advisory
Committee, "is the high number of police
harassment incidents. It's obvious that they
[police] are willing to go to any means to rid
public areas of gays. Even if you are engag
ing in lawful behavior, entrapment or
harassment are common. I was told by the
Sergeant on duty in Zone 3 (Grant Park),
'We're getting the homosexuals out of the
Park, just like we're getting the prostitutes
off Ashby Street.'"
On the night of Thursday August 2, the
windows of the First MCC Church on N.
Highland Avenue were shot with what
appeared to be a high powered B.B. gun;
exactly one week later, the windows of the
Southern Voice office were shot in a similar
manner. MCC has been the target of previ
ous violence (see story below). Previous
attacks against this paper have involved
vandalism to its paper racks and boxes.
Several callers to the Southern Voice
office interpreted the August 3 threat by an
Atlanta police officer to arrest a nude per
former in the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane
Dance Company as bias-related; that inci
dent is not included in the numbers above.
To report bias or hate related incidents
in the metro area, call 286-BIAS.
MCC/Knoxville
Victim of Arson
Act reminiscent of '82 violence
against MCC!Atlanta
Knoxville—After months of harassing
and threatening phone calls, the
Metropolitan Community Church here was
set on fire in mid-July, in what pastor Bob
Galloway called " a dumb act of homopho
bia." The building that housed the MCC also
housed aids Response Knoxville (aRK).
Investigators have confirmed that the fire
was the result of arson, and was set around
1:30 a.m. on Monday, July 16. Losses
included paper supplies, a TV, VCR, vest
ments and altar cloths. Client files belonging
to aRK escaped damage.
According to the Tennessee gay/lesbian
paper Dare, Galloway said his church had
received a series of harassing telephone
calls, beginning around the end of March
and continuing daily through April and May.
In June and July, the calls slowed to once or
twice a week. •
"A man would call and say threatening
things," recounted Galloway. "He began
with scriptural quotes and usually ended up
making profane statements." One of the
phone calls ended with a rhyme: "You'll
burn by the end of May—signed the
K.K.K."
"What concerns us most is that Bob has
continued to get harassing and threatening
phone calls since the fire," said Charles
Reece, executive director of aRK.
But, on the bright side, community sup
port and "a wonderful landlord," says Reece,
have allowed both organizations to move to
a building next door.
In 1982, Atlanta's First MCC received
hate mail and threatening phone calls quot
ing the bible. At about the same time, the
church was vandalized three times in ten
days. The perpetrators desecrated the altar,
threw paint on wall murals in the sanctuary,
and spray-painted a swastika, among other
things.
In an apparently unrelated event, the
house at Willow Hollow Ranch—a rural
North Carolina gay "safe-space"—was com
pletely destroyed by fire on July 5. "Arson-
is suspected," said Willow Hollow owner
Don Mason.
Gingrich Hints
Frank Case May
Be Campaign Issue
Linder campaign says it has 'other,
meatier things' to use against Jones.
by Cliff O'Neill and Andrea K. Brown
Washington—House Minority Whip
Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) has suggested that
how House members voted on punishing
openly gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is
likely to be a campaign issue for Republican
House candidates this fall.
Speaking to reporters two days prior to
the House’s July 26 vote on Frank's punish
ment, Gingrich denounced the House
Standards and Official Conduct Committee
for its unanimous recommendation to repri
mand Frank rather than censure him.
Dismissing suggestions that his actions
against Frank could be construed as "gay
bashing," Gingrich outlined his history of
acting against both Democratic and
Republican House members charged with
ethics violations. When pressed on com
ments made previously about "Greenwich
Village Democrats," which have been char
acterized as a not-so-subtle means of tag
ging individuals as gay, Gingrich dodged the
query, and highlighted his actions against
non-gay members of the House.
Gingrich's motion to censure Frank was
defeated. The reprimand was approved by a
vote of 408-18; those opposed included both
Frank's closest liberal supporters and the
loudest voices for expulsion.
On NBC's "Meet the Press," three days
after the Frank decision, Gingrich said he
did not approve of President Bush's having
invited gay and lesbian activists to the White
House for the signing of the Americans with
Disabilities Act the previous week. This
helped to confirm the earlier implication by
Gingrich that support for gay rights, and par
ticularly for Congressman Frank, would be
used as a political issue.
In Georgia's 4th Congressional District,
Republican candidate John Linder "has cer
tainly taken into consideration" Democratic
incumbent Ben Jones' vote not to censure
Frank, according to spokesperson Lisa
Wegener.
"We don't plan to use that at the moment.
We have other, meatier things to use. But I
do think it's fair game," Wegener concludes.
Alonso Leaves
Mexico Following
Hyperthermia Death
by Gary Kaupman
Mexico City—Approximately 12 days
after the death of the third patient to undergo
the controversial hyperthermia treatment,
Dr. Kenneth Alonso has left Mexico and
reportedly returned to Atlanta.
The patient who died—a New York City
resident known only by the name Vladimir
and rumored to be related to an important
Mexican official—is said to have been in
extremely poor health by those who saw
him in Mexico City. Alonso had said previ
ously that hyperthermia was too arduous a
treatment for anyone whose cardiovascular
system was not in excellent condition.
Atlantan Jim Allen has been in Mexico
City for about a week. He says he spoke
with a patient from Texas—an apparently
excellent candidate for the procedure,
because aside from moderate Kaposi's sar
coma his health was good. The patient told
Allen that Dr. Alonso assured him that he
would be the first to be treated in Mexico.
But apparently some kind of pressure
caused Alonso to treat "Vladimir" first.
After the patient’s death, Alonso and his
cohorts became embroiled with Mexican
officials about performing additional treat
ments. Shortly before he left Mexico him
self, Alonso sent a note to the Texan telling
him to go home.
According to reports, the technician
responsible for the blood heating and pump
ing equipment remains in Mexico; whether
the equipment is still there or has been
returned to the U.S. is disputed.
Both Dr. Alonso and Dr. Logan have
agreed to share their findings with members
of the Atlanta AIDS Research Consortium
at an August 14 meeting. AARC Executive
Director Amy Morris said that she hopes the
National Institutes of Health will release its
findings on hyperthermia to the group by
that time.
Allen says that he and other observers
were extremely discouraged by the fact that
politics appear to have forestalled the oppor
tunity for continued experimentation with
the hyperthermia process.
Carl Crawford, the first patient treated
with hyperthermia, was in Mexico.
According to Allen, Crawford looks great
and had loads of energy, "he was going from
dawn 'til late at night."
2
Southern Voice/August 16,1990