Members of the LGBT community have been targets for attackers
Activist Daniel Cates has planned a protest at Dallas Police headquarters in The Cedars on Sunday at 7 p.m. to demand visible police protection in Oak Lawn until attackers are caught.
Dallas police responded to the threat of vigilante action by the LGBT community this weekend by flooding Oak Lawn streets with patrol cars. Police have had a large undercover presence, but not a large visible presence since the attacks began in September. That changed this weekend as a number of residents promised to be out on the street with guns.
The anger in the LGBT community is a result of at least 15 attacks in Oak Lawn (12 that have been reported, but at least three that have gone unreported) in two months. The latest attack was illustrated by a particularly gruesome photo of the attack victim, a Cedar Springs Tap House employee walking home from work, that he posted on social media and sent to local media. Geoffrey Hubbard spent a day in ICU at Baylor but is now home recovering.
The protest at DPD headquarters will demand continued police presence until the attackers are caught. Police are following several leads, but the attacks haven’t all been done by the same group.
Police headquarters is located at 1400 S. Lamar Street, across the street from Southside on Lamar. To reach police headquarters on DART, take the Red or Blue line to The Cedars Station and walk one block west.