Blake Hayes lives in New York City, and is an entertainment reporter for various television and radio programs you’ve probably never tuned into. He’s also joined the esteemed list of gay bashing survivors. Walking along Ninth Avenue, Hayes says he and a friend were punched, thrown, and verbally assaulted by a man. Then New York’s finest, the NYPD, allegedly did nothing about the assault: “We called the police. They arrived — 5 cops or so, from at least 2 cars. They talked to the guy who assaulted us. They asked us what happened. We recounted the story. The cops — the NYPD — did NOTHING. They wouldn’t even take the guy’s information so we could file a claim later, or even run the plates of the car whose body was dented from him throwing my friend into it. ‘They’re NJ plates, we can’t do anything.'”
That’s terrible. Especially coming from a police department that allegedly sodomizes civilians and wastes taxpayer dollars on cruising gay porn shops to make haphazard arrests.
But can we also say this: Doesn’t everybody on this planet have an iPhone? Or a cell phone equipped with a video camera or, at least, a regular camera? Record video. Snap photos. Because this story dies right here in the media without those things. If only there were video of the police acting so valiant. And it would’ve been great to frame the shot next to a NYPD cruiser, which reads:
Jason
Could Queerty have possibly found a bigger case of gayface, ever?
terrwill
@Jason: WTF? the guy got the shit kicked out of him for being Gay. I guess having a “Gayface” makes it ok to be bashed??????????
terrwill
They made a mistake when they applied the graphics on that cruiser:
Cops
Prefer
Racist homophobes
jason
Jason,
From one Jason to another: get a grip, son.
As for this bashing, it just proves that New York can be just as homophobic as Hicksville.
sal(the original)
shame
Jack
I’m disheartened that there is not more outrage over this.
The investigating officers apparently decided not to give the alleged perpetrator any kind of citation — not even a disorderly conduct or public intoxication — let alone assault.
If I understand correctly, the police did not even take the alleged perpetrator’s personal information for possible followup civil action on the part of the victim.
To me, this is outrageous.
And, the establishment’s bouncer admitted the bullying homophobe back into the bar. What gives?
I live in Podunk, and many of the bars here (unbeknownst to the patrons) have discreet cameras that record(video only)digitally the areas around the cash registers (if you can still call the terminals that — we do in Podunk) and also the areas around the entrance/exit(s). These recordings are usually only stored for a day or two and then re-recorded over. If this type of information is available, it should be secured before it is too late. This kind of information could have been invaluable to investigations into the recent raids of gay bars in Texas and Georgia.
I believe the bouncer has a lot of explaining to do.
scott ny'er
that’s effin’ bullshite. Can’t a civilian complaint be made against those cops? That was assault.
Oh, and i don’t think a camera focused on a register would be able to see the street and what happened. Now, an ATM camera or something, that might have the right viewpoint.
And not everyone carries an iphone, cameraphone or camera, Queerty. But, maybe all the gays in Chelsea should.
I’ve said it before, I’m don’t trust anyone, no matter what neighborhood, etc. Gay = 3rd class citizen (minority = 2nd class) and be ready to be assaulted. Or be ready to fight back.
Tartuffe
It’s not just the police… it’s people in general. I’ve been accosted in a crowded area by a very drunk/belligerent man. It came extremely close to being a physical attack, and even though I had desperately made eye contact with several people standing and watching, no one would come to help. I just got very lucky that he decided to leave after destroying some of my stuff.
terrwill
Lets not for get the Mother of all Coppers not giving a shit about a Gay report of violence………..Jeffrey Dahmer and the 14yo Vietnamese kid……………….
petted
A lot of police departments have cars with videocameras running when officers get out of the car which typically can be obtained if your willing to work through the paperwork and red tape.
Jack
@scott ny’er: I should have expressed myself more clearly.
I realize that a camera on the register would have been of no value in recording the assault.
My thinking was, that since the police neglected to I.D. the perp, that an interior camera, such as one on a transaction terminal, may have been of value in providing a printable photo and possibly traceable data from a credit card transaction. It is hard for me to believe that, in this day and age, there is not a video clue somewhere in the neighborhood that would yield valuable information about the assailant’s identity. Even if assault charges are not forthcoming, Hayes should be entitled to some form of compensation through civil remedy.
Whether the police will earnestly pursue this is doubtful.
Jason
@terrwill:
There were a couple of other, nicer photos that were not so “Hey Sailor,” if you know what I mean.
Jason
@Jason:
Oops. Forgot the link: http://blakehayes.com/pics.php
The Milkman
A terrible stain on the NYPD, to be sure. I’m not expecting anyone to be very motivated to change the mindset of these officers.
That said, Mr. Hayes is freaking adorable.
genial
I’m so glad they didn’t disfigure his pretty face.
scott ny'er
@Jack: Ahh. Good idea. Hopefully, the bar people will cooperate.
scott ny'er
I agree he is adorable and his 2 other friends are hot as well.
Breaking news.
He’s a dj for a popular radio station. And it just appeared on the local news station. After meeting with a councilwoman and probably going on the air, internal affairs decided to meet up with the dudes. 2 days afterwards.
Hopefully, they’ll do something to these 5 cops. And catch the assholes. But, really, I doubt it’ll be anything but a handslap. Cops are protected.
OhYeah
Blake Hayes and his two friends learned the hard way not to stand there mouthing off to a drunken fool if they don’t want to get smacked.