Police say attackers shouted disability

Slurs while beating the man

                                                  

September 2006

 

After walking outside his home to investigate a noise, Michael Williams, 18, found trouble he hadn’t been looking for when two young men attacked him, knocked him to the ground and clubbed him with his prosthetic leg.  The attack, occurring at 2 a.m., took place in the parking lot of a nearby apartment complex. 

 

Cape Girardeau Police say the assailants, two African-American males, “made fun of his disability” as they hit him while he was on the ground.  Witnesses got the license plate number of the attackers’ vehicle.  Two hours after the assault, police arrested the two men.  According to a statement made by the Cape Girardeau Police on the day of the attack, charges would be filed as a hate crime because of the disability slurs and the nature of the attack.   

 

A hate crime occurs when a person claims to have been attacked because of a distinguishing attribute, such as race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability.

 

For Michael Williams, 18, having a congenital disability doesn’t keep him from being normal.  Williams uses a prosthetic for one leg and has a right arm that is half the length of his left arm. 

 

Immediately following the incident, Williams said he didn’t think about the assault as a hate crime.

 

“I really didn’t at first,” he said.

 

But then why would he?  Williams doesn’t consider himself to be disabled.  He said he can do anything anyone else can do.

        

The Cape Girardeau County prosecutor filed an assault charge against Alexander S. Harris, 17.  A 16-year-old minor also involved in the attack was cited into juvenile court. Because state statutes consider Harris’ actions as a hate crime, the charge was upgraded from a misdemeanor to a felony.

 

Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said his office averages less than one new case a year for hate crimes, and this case is the first hate crime against a person with a disability to be filed in the County.

 

Even though the charges have been filed by the County, Williams' mother, Carol, refuses to see the attack as a hate crime.

 

"I just think it was two kids looking for trouble, and they saw an easy mark," she said.