LJWorld.com

The latest attack is being called a hate crime by police.

Police are classifying as a hate crime an alleged attack last Friday against two men in downtown Lawrence.

The incident at Eighth and Massachusetts streets is the latest in a string of such attacks. No arrests have been made in the latest case, and an investigation is continuing.

According to Lawrence police, the victims were walking along East Eighth Street when they were confronted by a group of four or five other men who first abused them verbally, then attacked them physically.

The attack was at least the third in the past few weeks to be reported against men who were perceived to be gay.

On Sept. 30, a man allegedly was beaten in the 800 block of Massachusetts Street by men who questioned the way he was walking and called him a faggot. On Aug. 28, a man at Riverside Park allegedly endured anti-gay epithets, then was beaten as he dialed 911 after driving to a pay phone. Charges have been filed in that case.

Police said the latest incident started about 2:30 a.m. last Friday, when one of the attackers called the victims faggots and one of the victims responded.

"Words were exchanged," said Lawrence police spokesman Sgt. George Wheeler. "This was right before the pummeling commenced."

According to police reports, one of the victims, a 22-year-old Kansas University student, was knocked backward into a concrete planter and held down while two attackers struck his face with their fists. The other victim, a 22-year-old Lawrence resident, ran into Teller's restaurant, 746 Mass., to call police.

Both victims declined to make a report or prosecute the attackers at the time, Wheeler said.

One of them appeared at a hate crimes forum earlier this week and expressed frustration with the police officer who investigated the incident.

"He told us there was nothing he could do because it was their word against ours," the man said. At the time, Lawrence Police Lt. Kevin Harmon said he would meet with the man to discuss the case.

Wheeler said the report was filed Wednesday.

"The victims called back and said they've decided to make a report because they feel it ought to be reported, because it's a hate crime," he said.

Although Kansas statutes don't address hate crimes, judges can take that motive into consideration when deciding on sentencing.

Neither victim could be reached Thursday for comment.

Two suspects in last Friday's incident were interviewed by police at the time of the alleged attack, Wheeler said, and both were Nebraska residents. Other members of the group apparently were not interviewed because they weren't directly involved in the physical attack.

Since the report has been filed, officers were planning to continue their investigation.

-- Richard Brack's phone message number is 832-7194. His e-mail address is rbrack@ljworld.com.