The Story A to Z

This whole incident sounds like a possible Hate Crime because we use more facial expressions and signs that might confuse others and in this case it made a group of 10 stupid men beat up an innocent and helpless Deaf boy.

A hate crime is defined as a crime committed because of someone's disability, skin color or sexual orientation. It is obvious that the men could have beaten up the boy because he was Deaf. Why? Because it is known that Deaf people are VERY expressive when it comes to body language and facial expressions. Unfortunately there are close-minded people out there like these 10 men who did not understand that this Deaf boy was not "looking at them funny" he was just being himself, a Deaf person. If they beat him up because of this then he was beaten up because he was Deaf. That is a hate crime.

When will Deaf people in City Heights in San Diego be safe knowing we can walk around signing without fear that some idiot won't think we are "looking at them funny" and beat us up?

The San Diego Police Department does not consider this a hate crime. In fact when I first contacted Councilwoman Donna Frye's office, I was connected to Council Representative Keith Corry. You can find his bio at http://www.sandiego.gov/citycouncil/cd6/staff/corry.shtml . He represents disability services issues for this Councilwoman. Apparently he doesn't think much of disabled people because when I called him and asked him if this was a possible hate crime he said no and I explained why I thought it could be a hate crime and he still did not think it was one and did not even try to understand my point about how Deaf people communicate and investigate if it is possible that the Deaf boy's facial language was due to his Deafness therefore proving that the group of men beat him up because of his Deafness. Then he said he would ask the Police Department about this and get back to me. So this is what he sent to Police Officer Shaun Donelson:

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From: Keith Corry [mailto:KCorry@sandiego.gov]
Sent: Monday, August 14, 2006 04:45 PM
To: DONELSON, SHAUN
Subject: deaf teenager beating

Hi, Sean.

This gentleman believes that the following article indicates that this boy was beaten
because he is deaf. He wants to know why it is not being treated by PD and the media as a hate crime.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060814-9999-1m14deaf.html

In your explanation please send along specifics about the incident that prove this was not a hate crime, and any criteria the City uses in differentiating between hate crimes and other criminl activity.

Thank you very much for your help in this matter,


Keith Corry
Council Representative
Councilmember Donna Frye
619-533-6463

Disclosure: Correspondents should assume that all communication to or fromthis address is recorded and may be reviewed by third parties.

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Look at the bold yellow text. Mr. Corry was biased and didn't even do his job correctly, instead of trying to help me all he did was believe that he was right and that I was wrong. He asked them to prove that it wasn't a hate crime. He didn't even ASK if it was possible that it was a hate crime.

Officer Shaun Donelson works in the Chief's office and became my source in what the Police Department's views on this incident. His reply to Mr. Corry's request to prove that he was right without inquiring about the possibility that it was a hate crime was this:

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From: "DONELSON, SHAUN" sdonelson@pd.sandiego.gov
To: "Keith Corry" KCorry@sandiego.gov
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:41:15 -0700
Subject: RE: deaf teenager beating

keith,

I reviewed the report on this incident and it is not a hate crime. Gang members appropached him and asked what gang he claimed. When he didnt answer, they beat him. In order for it to be classified as a hate crime, the suspects would had to have beat him BECAUSE he is deaf. I hope this explains it.

The below link describes what a hate crime is.
shaun

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Okay, who is it that is Deaf here, me or Officer Donelson or Keith Corry? Of course I know that to be considered a hate crime the suspects would have to beat him BECAUSE he is Deaf. That is the whole arguement that I am trying to make with them that they could have beat him up BECAUSE he was making facial expressions and using body language that DEAF people use therefore they could have misunderstood them and beat them up because they are Deaf just like some dumb people who beat up a black person just because they look black, they didn't ask to be black and they were beaten up for it. Gay people don't ask to be gay and they have gotten beaten up for it. Deaf people don't ask to be Deaf, we are Deaf and we get beaten up for it, so why isn't it the same when a black person is beaten up by skinheads and it is called a hate crime and a gay person is beaten up because they make it known they are gay and it is called a hate crime and now when a Deaf person acts like themself by using their body language and very expressive facial expressions and they are beat up for it and it isn't hate crime?

Here is my reply to Officer Donelson:

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From: Pepe Cervantes [mailto:pepecervantes@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, August 19, 2006 03:19 PM
To: DONELSON, SHAUN
Subject: Re: RE: deaf teenager beating

Hi Mr. Donelson,I wanted to thank you for looking into this crime.

I inquired about this through Keith Corry in Donna Frye's office. I have one last question, why is your report about the incident completely different from what was reported in the newspaper?

The newspaper reported the following: The victim, an 18-year-old who is deaf, was playing basketball with several friends, said Sgt. Bob Dare."The other guys in the park think he's looking at them funny, and they don't like it," he said. "So they approach and he's unable to respond, so they beat him up."If a police officer says that instead of what was in the police report then why is that different? Because if you are correct about the gang member approaching him and asking what gang he claimed then it is definitely not a hate crime. But if the news report was correct then it would be a possible hate crime otherwise.

I know the definition of a hate crime and don't need to be referred to a definition of it because if the newspaper account is correct they could have approached the boy because he was Deaf and asked what gang he claimed simply because he was Deaf because Deaf people look different, we use our faces and body language more differently. You have to understand that Deaf people use their faces and make noises that are sometimes discomforting to hearing people and that can cause looks like the Deaf boy might have accidently given to the gang members like the newspaper implies he did so I want to double check on this lead because it just seems too difficult for me to believe that the police report you haveis different from what the police officer said in the news article and I am very active in making sure that the disability community is protected and I don't want to let this one slip away if it really is a possible hate crime because then they get more time in jail and that is what I am for if they abuse anyone via a hate crime.

Thank you for looking into this and I hope to hear back from you.

Best wishes.

-Pepe Cervantes

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The point of my email as to inquire why he was telling me something completely different from the newspaper article. I had a fishy feeling because it was possible that he was making a bad conclusion when he did not understand my point that the Deaf boy could still have been beaten up because he was Deaf.

Officer Donelson's reply:

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From: DONELSON, SHAUN
To: Pepe Cervantes
Cc: "Corry, Keith"
Date: Aug 21, 2006 3:51 PM
Subject: RE: RE: deaf teenager beating

Mr. Cervantes,

In their effort to report breaking news, news reports are often in error or incomplete as they rely on preliminary accounts of the incident when all the facts and witnesses have not been contacted. Crime reports have accurate details as reported by the victim and witnesses. That is what we go by when responding to requests such as yours. The police report clearly indicates that gang members approached and asked him what his affiliation was. That preceeded his beating.

A/Lt. Shaun DonelsonChief's Office

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This email was a BIG OBVIOUS RED FLAG. Why? Because now Officer Donelson won't share more information than neccessary. Notice how he only talks about how the gang members initiated the beating... by asking the Deaf boy what gang he was from. For those of you who don't know, gangs usually initiate a beating or a shooting after they ask someone "where are you from" or "what gang do you claim." So now he keeps trying to focus only on how the gang started the fight, all of the sudden he is not discussing my biggest concern, WHAT HAPPENED LEADING UP TO THE BEATING? Because like the newspaper said the gang members thought he was looking at them funny and they beat him up for it, now he won't even talk about that, he is just focused on ignoring the fact that it is a possible hate crime by sticking with his poorly made conclusion that it cannot be a hate crime since it involved a gang.

Not long ago there were "gangs" that beat up black people and lynched them because they were black. Do we look at this as just "gang activity" and not a hate crime? NO. We see it as a sad period of history in the USA where there were many hate crimes. And now this applies to this situation. How can Officer Donelson say that just because these people were gang members and asked which gang this Deaf person was in (don't forget that in the news article a police officer is quoted saying that the victim could not respond) that it could not be a hate crime and completely ignore the fact that an innocent Deaf boy that could not respond and was beaten up because of his facial expressions that many Deaf people have when communicating.

This is just sad and makes me more angry that Officer Donelson and Keith Corry aren't smart enough to do their job as city employees and serve the public instead of focusing on being closed minded and constantly sticking to their conclusion that it was a gang incident and had nothing to do with being Deaf.

In my reply to him I focused on trying to pull out more information about what happened BEFORE the gang members approached him because this would be a big clue in determining whether not it is a possible hate crime.... I replied two times since he did not respond to my first reply... here they are:

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From: Pepe Cervantes
Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: "DONELSON, SHAUN"
Date: Aug 22, 2006 12:31 PM
Subject: Re: deaf teenager beating

Hi-

Thank you for following up on this yet I still have one more question.

Does the police report omit that the group of men thought he was looking at them funny? I want to clear this up because even if the police report states they asked what gang he claimed prior to the beating, it can still be assumed that they used the gang claimation as an excuse to beating up a Deaf person because he looked at them funny.

I want to clarify that. I apologize if I seem annoying by being persistent in this particular case, I am just frustrated by it because had it been a blind or wheelchair bound person, it probably would get a little bit more attention. Have any arrests been made in this case? And if the SD Police Dept ever needs someone to help educate or explain aspects of the Deaf community or disability issues please do let me know.

Thank you and I hope to hear back from you.

Regards,

Pepe Cervantes

After 31 hours and no reply I sent a second email:

From: Pepe Cervantes
Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: "DONELSON, SHAUN"
Date: Aug 23, 2006 9:32 PM
Subject: Re: deaf teenager beating

Hi-

I am following up to see if you have any update to the last email I sent to you yesterday.

Some Deaf people in the San Diego community are starting to get concerned about this issue and I would like some clarification on this issue because I still want to know what the police report says happened before the gang members approached the Deaf person because we still have a fishy feeling that it is quite possible that the report is omitting that the gang members could have possibly been offended byhis facial language as a disabled individual and then in turn the gang members could have been offended and decided to beat him up by initiating the "what gang do you claim" method. I have also seen ananonymous tip online that the boy did not want anything to do with this out of fear for his family and his own safety so I am starting to wonder if things were omitted from the original report because even if the boy does not want anything to do with this, there should be action to seek out these ruthless people who preyed on a disabled individual and isn't about the boy anymore but about the SDPD and the community's relatively slow and inactive reaction to this issue.

I want clarification on this and if it is better I could meet with you and discuss this some more.

A group of Deaf community members will probably start writing a lot of emails and letters and start making many phone calls to city council offices and the mayor's office next week because we still believe swift action should have been taken because this was a Deaf person who was disabled and if it had been a blind person or wheelchair bound person beat up there should and would have been an uproar about it and there should be about this Deaf beating, it is not right and we want to push the SDPD and city council to pay attention to this and take swifter action on this if no one has been arrested.

Please write back.

Sincerely,

Pepe Cervantes

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The goal of this email was to ASK FOR INFORMATION ON WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE the gang initated the beating. And I was hoping this time that Officer Donelson would stop making me look hearing and stop acting "deaf" about this issue and answer my question.

Guess what I got? An indirect answer but good enough. Figure it out yourself:

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From: DONELSON, SHAUN
To: Pepe Cervantes
Cc: "Corry, Keith"
Date: Aug 24, 2006 9:30 AM
Subject: RE: deaf teenager beating

Mr. Cervantes,

Our Mid City Division Detectives are still actively working this case and looking for additional witnesses. Some physical evidence was collected at the scene which will be helpful. There is no evidence that supports they beat him because he is deaf. Beating a person becuase they looked at you "funny" would not be enough to justify calling it a hate crime. Absent any further information from an undiscovered witness, that will not change. I understand your concern, but rest assured that the Police Department takes all such matters very seriously for ALL of our citizens.

A/Lieutenant. Donelson
Chief's Office

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READ THE RED HIGHLIGHTED PART! He IMPLIED that yes they beat him up because he looked at them funny but it isn't a hate crime. He doesn't even answer my question directly by saying NO because he already lied enough by saying the news article was inaccurate when he just implied right now that it WAS accurate and that they did think he "looked at them funny".

Officer Donelson DOESN'T GET IT. He thinks that we can be ourselves and just walk around City Heights signing and using our face expressions and that if these same 10 men happen to see us they beat us up and it is STILL NOT A HATE CRIME, why? Because Officer Donelson and Keith Correy are UNEDUCATED on how Deaf people communicate using strong body language and facial expressions that identify us as Deaf and if someone is going to be beating Deaf people up because they use facial expressions just like how the KKK beats up black people just because they are black, then it is a hate crime that we are targetted because we use facial language that some dumb uneducated thugs will use as a reason to hate us and beat us up just like the KKK uses a black person's skin color as a reason to hate them.

Why do we have to wait for the Police Department to educate themselves? We NEED to get these 10 thugs off the street NOW! We need the Mayor and the City Council to WAKE UP and realize that it is a POSSIBLE HATE CRIME and they need to dedicate more resources to get these 10 people off the street IMMEDIATELY! How can a Deaf person feel safe walking around City Heights knowing these 10 men are on the loose and could possibly beat us up because we use our facial expressions very expressively that could lead them to commit another Hate Crime and beat up another Deaf person?

JOIN US IN HELPING US REACH OUT AND PUSH THE CITY COUNCIL AND MAYOR TO DO SOMETHING! In July three gay men were beaten up and it was a hate crime and the Police Department dedicated more resources and they CAUGHT the hate-mongers in less than a week! And now it has been almost 2 weeks and they still have not caught a single one of the 10 men who beat up a member of our community. When do we say enough is enough, the City needs to take this possible Hate Crime SERIOUSLY and listen to our concerns and spend more resources to remove these 10 thugs off the streets NOW.