A gay man holding his boyfriend's hand
in Midtown Atlanta was suddenly pushed into oncoming traffic in an
attack recorded by surveillance video.
According to the GA
Voice, the men, who were not identified, had just left
Campagnolo, a gay-owned Italian restaurant on Piedmont Avenue, and
were walking to Cafe Intermezzo on Peachtree Street. The couple said
that a driver in a BMW began honking at them as they crossed 11th
Street.
“As we were walking up, a car started
following slowly behind us. It was a BMW honking its horn. It was
just making us uncomfortable really,” the boyfriend of the victim
said.
As they waited to cross Juniper Street,
a passenger in the BMW jumped out, screamed “faggot” before
pushing one of the men into the street.
Video obtained by the Atlanta Police
Department shows a car swerving into another lane to avoid hitting
the man and nearly colliding with another vehicle.
“I didn't know what happened at that
time, all I know is [the victim] is in the street,” the boyfriend
said. “It all happened so fast.”
“[The suspect] was yelling, 'I'm a
Mexican! I'm a Mexican!,' which makes no sense,” he added. “He
was pumping his chest.”
The couple managed to capture video of
the suspect and the car's license plate with a cell phone before he
jumped back into the BMW and the driver drove away. The attack
occurred in March.
Atlanta police identified the driver
but he told them that he did not know the suspect.
“We were told they talked to the guy
and they said he doesn't know the passenger, and that he picked the
guy up on one block and dropped him off on another,” the boyfriend
said. “It's crazy to me saying, 'I don't know the passenger in my
car who beat up that guy.' It's just crazy. I don't believe it.”