Lesbians Attacked in Kansas City---"No Big Deal," Say Police

Two Kansas City, Missouri lesbians were attacked by a bat-wielding woman in the early morning hours of July 14 – and the KC cops don’t think it’s a big deal.

Kansas City Anti-Violence Project (KCAVP) says the women were walking hand in hand down a busy KC street in a local restaurant district when a pickup truck drove by, and a women in the passenger seat yelled anti-gay comments in their direction. The truck circled the block for another round of hate speech, and then made a third pass at the victims. This time, the truck stopped, a woman came out with a bat and proceeded to attack the pair, pummeling one of the lesbians multiple times. The attack halted only when the flashing lights of a tow truck, not a police car appeared.

One of the women, 23, suffered a concussion amongst other injuries in the assault.

More than 30 minutes later says KCAVP, two officers arrived who told the women “they didn’t have to respond to the call at all” and would not acknowledge that it was a hate crime even though anti-LGBT slurs had been yelled and was motivated because the two women were walking together. The police also gave no appearance of caring or motivation to pursue who perpetrated the crime. "I would think being bashed over the head with a bat would give reason for police to come to a scene," Doug Riley, executive director of the KCAVP, said in a press release. "They need to be held accountable for their inaction and insensitivity."

After that press release, the local media made mention of the case.
And that got the attention of the police. The police called the women back into the station to give their statements again, and pressed much harder for a description of the assailant.

“The Kansas City, Missouri police must provide equal and compassionate service to all people,” said Riley… They need to explain to the victims and to the community what is being done to solve this crime and prevent others from happening.”

To the best of my knowledge, there have been no arrests. Sources: Kansas City Star, KCAVP, Planet Out