Posted on 12/08/2007 5:46:05 PM PST by freespirited
BALTIMORE - A white woman beaten by a group of black students on a bus has prompted a hate-crime investigation, attempts by transit officials to reassure riders of the safety of the system, and radio talk-show chatter over comparisons with the Jena Six case.
The uproar prompted two leading black politicians to issue statements decrying the attack.
Sarah Kreager, 26, suffered broken facial bones and other injuries after she was punched, kicked and dragged off the bus Tuesday afternoon. Kreager's companion, Troy Ellis, was also attacked, but not beaten as severely. Kreager has an unlisted phone number and attempts to reach her Friday were unsuccessful.
MTA police said evidence has not been found to support claims by the students' parents that the children were provoked.
"We are at this point investigating it as a hate crime," MTA spokeswoman Jawauna Greene said.
The attack immediately drew comparisons on talk radio and Internet blogs to the Jena, La. case in which a white student was attacked by a group of black students, leading to demontrations by black activists who alleged local authorities were prosecuting blacks more harshly than whites. Many callers and web site posters questioned what they considered a lack of outrage over the latest attacks.
But Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon and Rep. Elijah Cummings, both black, issued statements condemning the attack.
"The physical assault of any human being, regardless of motivation, is conduct that is unacceptable. As police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding this terrible crime, we must rise together as a community to take a stand against violence toward any of our neighbors," Cummings said in statement issued Friday.
Dixon said after the attack that she was extremely concerned about the beating, which she described as "deplorable."
"I will not tolerate intimidation or violence anywhere in our city," the mayor said. "I have offered the MTA whatever assistance they need to investigate this incident and to do our part to ensure the public transportation system is safe for everyone."
MTA Northern District Capt. David Marzola said the middle school students, three females and six males 14 to 15 years old, are also accused of menacing an elderly white passenger and assaulting the bus operator, a black male who defended his passenger.
"He probably saved this gentleman's life," Marzola said.
The driver was not identified because he is considered a witness to a crime, the MTA said.
Video from a surveillance camera on the bus is also being analyzed as part of the investigation, the MTA said.
The students, who ride the bus to Robert Poole Middle School, have been released into the custody of their parents, Greene said.
Col. John Gavrilis, deputy chief of the MTA Police, said MTA Police have stationed an officer on the line since Tuesday and the city school police force has assigned extra officers to the Hampden school.
Greene said the nine students have had their bus privileges revoked.
"Riding the bus is a privilege," she said. "Public safety is our primary concern."
MTA officials noted the system is safe with a total of 381 crimes this year on the transit system, which carries 250,000 riders a day, with property crimes accounting for the vast majority.
However, the attack was the latest in a string of high-profile crimes to have taken place on or near MTA facilities.
Nicole Edwards, 17, was fatally stabbed near a Baltimore light rail station in November, 2006, during an armed robbery of Edwards and her brother. Lataye S. King, 17, was sentenced to 25 years in prison Thursday in the case, and a 15-year-old co-defendant is to be sentenced in February for robbery conspiracy and aggravated assault.
In October, a twice-convicted rapist was accused of attacking a woman at a light rail station in Linthicum. And an MTA officer shot and killed a robbery suspect late last year at a Reisterstown Metro station after police said he pulled a gun.
“They realize they have reached critical mass, and they can prey upon The Man without fear of reprisal - all they have to do is play the race card and they walk.”
.....well they’ve certainly reached a critical mass in Baltimore City....majority black population, black mayor, black city council, black school board, black state’s attorney ect....that’s why nothing much will happen to these kids....
Troy is a "her?" This is what passes for reporting by the AP?
Kreager is a female. Troy is a male.
But I'm not going to bank on it...
What “race” is Troy? Does anyone know? The news article doesn’t say.
Garbage raised by garbage raising garbage.
This is not going to stop until punks start eating teeth and lead with victims not fearing reprisals.
It was a hate crime, pure and simple. There is nothing that woman did to justify what was done to her. NOTHING.
In some areas, little has changed, or certainly not for the better. Fortunately, in other communities, the situation has improved greatly. In our upper-middle class community, there are a great many inter-racial marriages and families. Our church is a pleasant mix of racial backgrounds, and people seem to have genuinely transcended many of the differences of the past. If all our communities could achieve this, America would indeed benefit greatly from its diversity. These hate-filled episodes are a sad reminder of the lowest behavior among us, whichever group initiates it.
Speaking of critical mass - in Charlotte, NC the sherrif resigned and the local Democrats had to ‘elect’ a new one. Instead of picking the current Deputy Sherrif who has been running the jail for years they chose a guy who ‘resigned’ from the police force right before the fired him for falsifying work records and who filed bankruptcy for 375k.
BTW the jail has a budget of over 100 billion and now it is going to be run by a guy who can’t balance his own check book. Oh yes, he was also charged with 3 speeding tickets in the last 6 months (2 have already been dismissed and you know the other one will be too) and he had sexual harassment or assault problems when he was a policeman.
However - he had one characteristic the local Democrats wanted. Guess what it was.
And even if she did, so what? I’m tired of hearing how someone disrespecting someone else is license to attack them. These kids need thicker skins.
susie
What happened to parents and their children.
They just keep getting sicker and sicker.
No white person in Baltimore, even if they were a racist along the lines of David Duke, is stupid enough to do that.
Too bad Bernard Goetz hadn’t been on the bus. He would have had five dollars for each of them.
I believe he also is white.
Not in gun-free Baltimore. Gun free means crime free, ya know.
“BTW the jail has a budget of over 100 billion...”
The budget for Charlotte’s jail is how much?
This commercial has been brought to you by the makers of high capacity magazines for handguns..........film at 11.
Stay Safe !
You missed a period.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.