An intoxicated club-goer was struck with a baseball bat during a robbery two blocks from the Cedar Springs strip early Saturday, according to police reports. But authorities say they have no reason to believe the incident was an anti-gay hate crime.
The victim was transported to Parkland hospital for treatment, reports say, but a Parkland spokeswoman said she was unable to locate him in the system or provide a condition Monday.
According to a police report, the 41-year-old white male was intoxicated and walking home “from a nearby bar” at about 2:15 a.m. Saturday at 2800 Throckmorton St. The suspect, described only as a white male, struck the victim with a baseball bat and demanded his wallet.
The victim handed over his wallet, which contained his driver’s license but nothing more, reports say. The suspect was gone by the time police arrived.
Sr. Cpl. Laura Martin, the Dallas Police Department’s LGBT liaison officer, acknowledged that baseball bats have been a weapon of choice for gay-bashers over the years, including a 2010 incident in the same area. But Martin said this case looks like “a straight robbery.”
“It’s just a robbery,” she said. “It’s not unusual for someone to get hit with a baseball bat in a hate crime, but in this case … it [the report] doesn’t say anything about any statements made or anything else, and not very good suspect information either. I’m just guessing that given the intoxicated state of the complainant, he may not have been able to get a very good description.”
Martin said the incident appears to be classic example of the type of behavior police warn against — walking from the bars alone late at night on dark side streets near the strip.
“The one thing good that I can say is he wasn’t driving home,” Martin said of the intoxicated victim, adding that it’s always best to take a cab or get a ride from friends. “It’s never a good idea to walk alone, especially when you’re drunk.”
These stories always say “A Nearby Bar”. Why is the name never given so that we will know where the person was overserved at, and then was not provided a ride home in a cab to prevent incidents like this. Some bars just toss out intoxicated persons rather than calling them a cab and making sure they at leaset leave the premesis with a ride home. I have been at others that sit the person down in the office, give them bottled water and wait for the cab and make sure they are in it and the fare is paid. If a customer is overserved, whether due to negligence on the part of a bartender or just an honest error where someone did not show signs of being intoxicated when served….the bar has a responsibility to see to the safety of the patron as much as possible….at least getting them a cab, etc.
Steve, Ultimately it is one’s own responsibility to watch out for his/her own person. The victim was 41 years old. He’s had at least 20 years to learn how to handle his alcohol and know his limits… if he hasn’t by now, that’s his own problem. Besides that, not walking alone would have been more likely to prevent this robbery than being sober.