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.
How about O.J. Simpson? Remember that? There is very little justice for white people anymore. We are always the bad guy, and now these fiends are beating, raping, and maiming people, backed by the law. The other day, some joker in a firehouse in the same city claimed to have found a noose threatening his life sent by white people. Guess what? They found out he devised it himself. Guess what? He isn’t being prosecuted.
But you don’t even want us to talk about it. It offends your little old sensitivities. Too bad.
You forgot the Rodney King riots - they set fire to a city because the verdict wasn't what they wanted. Didn't Johhnie Cochran (may his soul burn) threated riots that would dwarf LA '92 if OJ didn't walk?
They KNOW they can call "Racist!" and get away with it now. White guilt has reached the bone marrow, and they know it. These animals will go free.
I love Charlotte too. That’s why I was so shocked that they named this person the new sheriff. They already have a school department building named after a sex offender.
Why do the typically conservative voters keep electing these liberal politicians.
Note to Parks Helms: yes, you should be very worried.
Couldn’t be.......it only goes the one way.....whites hate blacks......they LUV us...........right???
Troy is white. They had a clip of both of them on WBFF 45’s website earlier today—not sure if it’s still there.
Can you say Jena 6?
Most parents, black or white, would take their child’s side of any serious conflict, even when the child is clearly in the wrong.
B.S., I doubt that there is a parent on this board that would lie to protect their child like these scum bags have in this case. I would disown my son if he and a bunch of other thugs beat up anyone much less a woman.
The presumption that majority black means no justice for white people ever is silly and sort of primitive.
Do some research and get back to us.
Rx: Mandatory exile/repatriation for criminal cases. Voluntary repatriation incentives for non-criminal cases to whatever continent is most appropriate.
I did find this though, 3 admit roles in beating The story doesn't mention the ethnicity of any principles of the case. I did find out the victim is Zachary Sowers who is white. The 3 perps mentioned in the plea deal are Eric Price, 17, Arthur Jeter, 18, and Wilburt Martin, 19. The fourth is Trayvon Ramos 16.
They all sound like such nice Amish boys too.
I never said I didn’t want you to talk about it. On the contrary, I’m very interested to hear more.
I’m only saying that the article doesn’t suggest that these kids are a cause that the race pimps are going to embrace.
I just don’t think it’s healthy to anticipate racial injustice before it rears its head, whether we’re talking about over-sensitive blacks who hate “The Man”, or over-sensitive white people who keep waiting for the next OJ verdict.
I would have loved to bury my pocket******* in all of their backs as they were assaulting this woman. I can’t believe more people didn’t stand up and stop this assault.
That is really the saddest part. No one stood up, that breaks my heart. The thugs I always expect.
“Attack of white woman by 9 black kids a possible hate crime”
Who would have thought it possible...,/sarc.>
Certainly there have been cases of whites being victimized because of their race and never getting justice.
Certainly there have been cases of blacks being victimized because of their race and never getting justice.
What are we supposed to do? Fight it out in a race war, or try to work past these relatively few incidents of injustice and focus on what lies ahead?
Well, that'll teach them!
History does.
Are you really this naive or are you just trolling?
I’m not naive and I’m not a troll.
I disagree with you.
She disrespected them by being white. /sarc.
I disagree with you.
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