New disparities in accounts of Yale 'hate crime'

COURTESY OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS Witnesses disagree with YPD Chief James Perrotti's claims that the alleged attack was a hate crime.

The Yale community has been in tumult over an apparent hate crime in the wake of the Sun., Sept.19 alleged assault of an Asian-American Yale student. An unidentified witness of the victim's actions before and after the assault spoke exclusively to the Herald about his version of the events.

According to the source, a friend of the victim who asked not to be identified, the assault against the student left the instigators as wounded as the alleged victim. The student also claims that the alleged victim was drunk, and that the victim's two companions were relatively unscathed following the encounter. Several other sources close to the student have confirmed that the victim's two friends were Caucasian males who attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. The source also said police officers questioned the instigators and the Asian-American on the night of the incident, yet failed to follow up until days later. This report is in contrast to the account given by the Yale Police Department (YPD).

YPD Chief James Perrotti spoke in an open forum with students on Tues., Nov. 9 about the alleged incident, which he forcefully labeled a "hate crime." The YPD's version of events maintains that an Asian-American Yale student and two friends from another school became entangled in a conflict that included racial slurs directed at the Asian-American student. According to Perrotti, the victim asserted that he and two friends were verbally assaulted by a group of 15 to 20 individuals. They were overtaken on Whalley Avenue outside of the Holiday Inn by three to four assailants from the larger group and a fight ensued, ending when the Asian-American student and his friends fled.

However, another version of the night's events is emerging, one that counters much of what Perrotti and the YPD maintain. The student source said he encountered the alleged victim immediately after the assault, and the victim asked him to call the police. The student also claimed that the two West Point cadets, both friends of the victim, told him that the encounter began and escalated as a war of words between the two groups leaving the party. He added that the two cadets appeared relatively unharmed—one had sustained only a scratch on his chin and a ripped shirt.

Perrotti's memory of police actions contrasts with the unidentified source's claims of when the police became involved. Speaking at last week's forum, Perrotti asserted that the YPD had first learned of the case when it received a call from a Yale Daily News reporter on Thurs., Sept. 23—while the unidentified source claimed that police contact occurred on the night of the incident itself. According to Perrotti, the Asian-American student, whom he described as "soft-spoken and respectful," came forward on Fri., Sept. 24, though he did not wish to press charges. At this point, the YPD began its investigation. However, Perrotti did confirm that the New Haven Police Department (NHPD) had received a non-emergency call on Sun., Sept. 19, regarding a fight at Edgewood and Howe Streets. While Perrotti acknowledged his receipt of such a call and the subsequent arrival of the NHPD, he insisted that "nobody was there" when the police arrived.

According to the unnamed source, however, the police caught wind of the case almost immediately. After calling the NHPD and walking to the site of the altercation, the anonymous student claims to have seen two police officers questioning the three or four alleged assailants, and the one with the injured forehead claimed to have fallen on his face, failing to mention the fight. After speaking with the men, the officers left without making any arrests, the source asserted. The source further claimed that he and the alleged victim, who are friends, then took refuge in a house on Edgewood Avenue. The anonymous student maintained that during this time, the victim and the victim's two friends were in fact visited by two police officers who questioned the Asian-American student and, in a cursory manner, the source himself. At press time, the YPD was not available to respond to the discrepancies emerging from the two different accounts of the alleged incident.

There is clearly debate on whether these events constitute a hate crime, but some students question whether the focus should be on that night's particularities. Betty Gee, TD '00, moderator of the Asian American Students Association, said: "There are people in the Asian-American community who think we're getting too worked up over this—that concerns me." David Luk, BK '01, president of the Chinese-American Students Association (CASA), maintained that while CASA members are divided on how to classify the altercation, "this is more important symbolically regardless of whether it was a hate crime or not."

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