|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
Updated: 07/01/2009 11:40 AM KSTP.com |
Man Hit with Rocks After Twin Cities Gay Pride Parade
The video has already received 1,800 views after it was posted Monday on YouTube. The clip shows boys and teenagers trailing 37-year-old Adam Schreifels and taunting him after learning he's gay. "We hate fags, disgusting. Just very inappropriate things to be saying," Schreifels said. He says while he was shocked by the comments, he wasn’t scared. "Some of them threw rocks. At first, I got defensive. Then I thought okay, they are teenagers. I can take them," Schreifels explained. But Gay Pride organizers say he shouldn't have to. "I was upset. I was very disturbed why what I was seeing," said Chair of Twin Cities Pride David Hill. The video also shows security officers not reacting to the harassment. Organizers say the men worked security at a nearby building, but weren’t providing security for the parade—which was controlled by 30 off-duty Minneapolis Police officers. "They would have stopped it immediately. It would not be tolerated by Minneapolis Police officers," said Sgt. Jesse Garcia. But Schreifels says a Minneapolis officer directing traffic failed to step in. "There has been some speculation that Minneapolis Police officers were in that video. The Minneapolis Police Department wants to assure the public that those security officers who casually walk by during this incident were not from our department. We have a strict uniform policy and those were not our uniforms or our police officers. This is unacceptable behavior that would not be tolerated by the Minneapolis Police. Action would have been taken immediately to stop the harassment that is depicted in the video. We want all people, no matter of color, race, creed or sexual orientation to feel safe and welcome while they are in the city of Minneapolis," the department said in a released statement. While event organizers say this was an isolated incident, it’s a very upsetting one. "It brings to the forefront why we hold the event every year, equality is still not there," Hill explained. The teens who harassed Schreifels were Somali, according the Somali Justice Advocacy Center. Leaders say it's unacceptable to harass someone because of their sexual orientation. |
|
|
|
|
Print Story
A St. Louis Park man says he was taunted and pelted with rocks after he left the Twin Cities Gay Pride Parade, and the attack was caught on camera.