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Police probe teens' role in beating
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HUNTINGTON -- Police are investigating a video of teens apparently beating a homeless man at Harris Riverfront Park.
Charges are being considered, but none had been filed Tuesday.
Video of the beating surfaced Monday on two social networking websites, Facebook and photobucket, along with comments bragging about the incident. Concerned residents brought it to the attention of the Huntington Police Department, according to an incident report.
Huntington Police Lt. John Williams didn't view the entire 43-second cell phone video, but the portion he watched was enough to form an opinion.
"It's just shocking that kids would go out there and engage in this sort of action for their amusement," he said.
The video shows one juvenile exchanging words with the homeless man. The confrontation then escalates and the youth pulls the homeless man to the ground.
The juvenile stands over the man, punches him and attempts to kick him in the head. The homeless man tries to stand up when two other juveniles rush to the confrontation. One pulls the assailant from the dispute, while the other pushes over the homeless man causing him to fall and roll over.
At least four juveniles, three boys and one girl, are captured on the video. A second female's voice is heard in the background.
Others posted comments about the video on a local teen's Facebook page. Most indicated they thought it was funny.
The victim did not suffer severe injuries, but Williams described him as cooperative and willing to prosecute his alleged attackers.
The National Coalition for the Homeless, in a report released last month, documented an increase in hate crimes against the homeless. The report found 98 percent of the attacks in 2009 were perpetrated by men, with 80 percent committed by assailants under 30 years old. Nearly one in three of last year's attacks proved fatal.
Some of the perpetrators are as young as 10 years old, and the incidents are thought to have gained in popularity because of the advent of social networking sites and web video, according to the report.
"These crimes are believed to be motivated by the perpetrators' bias against homeless individuals or their ability to target homeless people with relative ease," the August 2010 report states.
Williams doesn't regard such beatings to be a trend locally.
"Incidents like this have popped up. Not only outright assaults, but fights between individuals," he said. "We're just in that age that we have a media that allows them to instantly post something on the Internet. Sometimes these things are done without a lot of thought."
The Coalition's report states many attacks go unreported, which was almost the case in the Huntington incident.
Williams said the investigation was prompted by concern about the circulating video, not a forthcoming victim. Police identified the homeless man, who then responded to their request for a meeting, Williams said. Because the homeless community is so poorly treated, many cases go unreported, according to the Coalition's report.
Williams said his investigator had identified each of the alleged attackers by Tuesday afternoon. The detective was still working to identify other juveniles at the scene. He said those who attacked the victim and recorded the incident face possible arrest. Those involved in the attack face a misdemeanor battery charge at the very least, Williams said.
"He was injured, but not to the degree for which a (felony) malicious wounding would be appropriate," he said.
The decision of what the juveniles would be charged with would be left to prosecutors, Williams said.
Investigators believe the Facebook video depicts the majority of the beating, although surveillance cameras at the park will be reviewed to find any additional views, Williams said.
