Source: Vancouver Sun, Globe and Mail, The Province, Vancouver 24 Hours, Burnaby Now, Xtra West
The lawyer for a man accused of assaulting and breaking another man's jaw because he is a gay criticized Vancouver police yesterday for recommending he be charged with a hate crime, saying the police were "overly harsh in coming to judgment.".
"We're overwhelmed by this, we still don't know what the exact charges are," said attorney Danny Markovitz.
Appearing briefly in provincial court Tuesday on behalf of the accused, Markovitz asked that the matter be put over so that he may have full disclosure before proceeding with the case.
Vancouver police have said Michael Kandola, 20, should be charged under Canada's hate crime law because the victim was attacked after slurs over his sexuality.
The law allows a judge to increase a sentence if it is shown that the act was committed out of hatred against a person based on race, religion, or sexual orientation.
Kandola is presently charged with assault causing bodily harm in connection with the Sept. 27 incident on Davie Street that left 27-year-old Jordan Smith with a jaw broken in three places.
Smith was assaulted shortly after midnight Saturday as he walked hand in hand with a companion down Davie Street.
Kandola was arrested a short while later in an alley and remains the only person charged in relation to the matter, although Smith alleges he and his partner were swarmed by several men.
Smith has said he was sucker-punched in the face and knocked unconscious after being subjected to a tirade of anti-gay remarks. The next thing he said he remembers was waking up in hospital. His jaw has since been wired shut.
The highly publicized assault has raised tensions between the Vancouver area's large South Asian population and its gay community.
Community activist Jamie Lee Hamilton was at provincial court Tuesday to show support for Smith.
Hamilton told Xtra West the number of South Asian men allegedly involved in gay bashings is becoming too much.
"I think a lot of South Asian men are growing up and they’re hearing violence glorified in their temples and they’re perpetuating it," she further alleges.
"I implore their leaders to stop and listen and get a handle on this violence."
Burnaby legislator Raj Chouhan released a statement condemning the attack, but warning against racial undertones in some of the coverage, Burnaby Now reports.
"Some media has left an impression that the whole South Asian community is against gays and lesbians - and that's not the case, that's not true," Chouhan said.
Chouhan said schools needs programs that teach kids tolerance towards gays and lesbians while undermining harmful stereotypes.
The chief executive officer of SUCCESS, an immigrant advocacy group, called the attack on Smith "a heinous crime," Xtra West reports.
"In our multicultural society, it is important for us to speak up in solidarity with other minority groups in times like this," says Tung Chan. "We have recently seen an increase in similar attacks against minority groups, which further demonstrates the need for education to create a more welcoming society," Chan adds.
Kindola did not appear in court Tuesday. His appearance has been postponed until October 14 as the defense awaits further disclosure from the Crown.
Markovitz appeared on his behalf in Provincial Court yesterday morning because of the intense public interest in the case.
"There was an agreement between Crown and the defense that it wouldn't be in the interest of justice for him to be here today because of all the media scrutiny," Markovitz told reporters after the hearing.
Markovitz said police were too quick to label the attack a hate crime, and said Kandola is entitled to a fair hearing and the presumption of innocence.
"When the police investigate themselves they always ask people to keep an open mind, but in this case they are coming to rash judgments without any of the details coming before the court or the accused," said Markovitz.
He told media outside court Sep 30 that his client's bail conditions include no contact with the victim and staying out of the Davie Village area, Xtra reports.
Police Constable Tim Fanning defended the police's handling of the case. "All we've done is state the facts of the case," he said. "Given the facts that we've gathered thus far, we believe that the hate crime legislation will be appropriate if he is convicted."
Fanning said whether the crime was motivated by hate and subject to hate crime legislation will be decided in court.
"That is ultimately up to the judge," he said.
"All we're asking for is that if the evidence we have before us from witnesses leads us to believe that this is the type of case that that legislation was made for [it will be used]," Fanning said.
He said that, because they are rarely reported, police are not sure whether hate crimes are frequent in Vancouver but anecdotal evidence indicates that they are happening, Globe and Mail reports.
Fanning said it is "very rare" for police to recommend an attack be treated as a hate crime, Vancouver Sun reports.
"We have to have the evidence there," he said, adding that there were witnesses to the attack on Smith.
"The facts are that slurs about sexuality were heard by witnesses and then there was an assault," Fanning said according to Vancouver 24-Hours.
The assault has prompted calls for action.
"We're furious," said John Boychuck, president of the Vancouver Pride Society, according to Vancouver 24 Hours. "People say things like this can't be happening in our city, but the gay community is exposed to it on a daily basis."
Boychuck says discrimination often goes unnoticed because victims don't report incidents as crimes.
"If people reported it more often, there would be more funding for education programs and more awareness."
Jennifer Breakspear, the executive director of The Centre, a gay and lesbian support group, also said that failure to report incidents is a problem.
She told Globe and Mail that many victims of anti-gay assaults don't come forward for a variety of reasons. However, she said long-running stigmas are a likely cause.
Breakspear also said some in the gay community who have suffered assaults or abuse may be less likely to view an incident as serious enough to call police.
"They could think, 'Well, they called me names and chased after me, but I did get away,' " she said.
Breakspear said her organization is hosting community forums with the VPD next month to brainstorm ways to persuade victims to come forward to police. "We've got to get to the bottom of what keeps people from calling," she said.
The hate crime provisions of the Criminal Code, in existence since 1995, spurred the creation of the Hate Crimes Unit -- a joint municipal police and RCMP unit that is part of the B.C. Attorney-General's Ministry -- in April 1996, Vancouver Sun reports.
Even mayoral candidate Gregor Robertson has chimed in, Vancouver 24 Hours reports.
"I join with many other community groups today in calling for this crime to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," he said in a media release.
But one comment has riled the mayor of neighboring Surrey.
Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts called comments made by the head of the West End Business Improvement Association about the gay-bashing incident "inappropriate" and "irresponsible", Vancouver Province reports.
Lyn Hellyar, executive director of the West End BIA, said on CKNW that some Surrey residents who visit Vancouver are not friendly to the gay community.
"I know there are a lot of people coming from the Surrey area to the West End and they're not particularly friendly towards the gay population," she said. "But it's mostly . . . that they're ignorant, they don't understand it."
Watts told The Province she was shocked by the comments. She said she was stunned that "someone of . . . that caliber would make such irresponsible" remarks. She noted that it is the victim, not the accused, who is from Surrey.
"I will be placing a call to her and having a conversation with her," said Watts. "Someone in that position . . . should certainly be careful as to how they present themselves."
Despite the transcript of her comments from CKNW, Hellyar told The Province she had been misquoted. She said she plans to explain the mistake to Watts: "I would never say that. I would never point a finger at a particular place, particular person or particular ethnicity."
Fatima Jaffer of Trikone, a queer South Asian network, told Xtra West that she's seen "huge inroads" against homophobia made in the broader South Asian community every time she speaks out on the issue.
"I can look back over time and see the kind of reaction I get. And the last few times, I've seen a major breakthrough."
Source: Police prejudged attack on gay man, lawyer says | Vancouver Sun
Lawyer criticizes police for suggesting hate-crime charges | Globe and Mail
Suspect appears in court | Vancouver 24 Hours
Slagging Surreyites in Vancouver 'inappropriate': Watts | Vancouver Province
MLA blasts racial stereotyping after attack | Burnaby Now
Accused told to have no contact with victim and to stay out of Davie Village, says lawyer | Xtra West