An innocent, patriotic family that had just returned from watching fireworks at Firestone Park was brutally and maliciously assaulted by a gang of fifty teenagers due to the color of their skin.
There was allegedly racist language being screamed during the attack, and it was fifty same-race teenagers attacking a family of a different race, yet:
Akron police are investigating. Right now, the case is not being classified as a racial hate crime. There were no other reports of victims assaulted by the group that night.
The victims' account of what happened are truly chilling:
They said it started when one teen, without any words or warning, blindsided and assaulted Marshall's friend as he stood outside with the others.
When Marshall, 39, jumped in, he found himself being attacked by the growing group of teens.
Marty Marshall took the brunt of the attack because he attempted to draw most of the punches to keep his family safe:
Marshall was the most seriously injured. He suffered a concussion and multiple bruises to his head and eye. He said he spent five nights in the critical care unit at Akron General Medical Center.
The construction worker said he now fears for his family's safety, and the thousands of dollars in medical bills he faces without insurance.
And yet:
Akron police say they aren't ready to call it a hate crime or a gang initiation.
This is truly an affront to the whole purpose of hate crimes laws: to punish crimes that have unnerved an entire community of people because of the way they are carried out. I think a 50 teen racist onslaught certainly qualifies in this situation.
So what can we do? First of all, we can call and/or email the Akron Police Department and tell them to investigate this transgression as a hate crime.
Contact info:
Chief of Police Craig Gilbride
(330) 375-2552
Police Department email: Police@ci.akron.oh.us
We can also push our Senators to pass S.909: Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which not only would include sexual orientation crimes to the list of prosecutable hate crimes, but would also provide federal dollars and help to prosecute hate crimes that a local police department may have trouble with due to budgetary concerns.