Chicago police investigate possible hate crime after 4 arrested in Facebook Live beating of white man
Chicago police investigate possible hate crime after 4 arrested in Facebook Live beating of white man:- A young woman who broadcast the beating of a man on Facebook Live has been arrested with three others in connection with the gruesome attack, Chicago Police said Wednesday.
The disturbing 30-minute video shows a man tied up and his mouth covered, cowering in the corner of a room. His attackers laugh and shout “f*ck Donald Trump” and “f*ck white people” as they kick and punch him and and cut into his forehead with a knife.
Police found the disoriented victim, described as a man from the Chicago suburbs with special needs, wandering the street and brought him to a hospital. Shortly afterward, officers responded to a battery call at a residence near where he was found and saw signs of a struggle and property damage, police said.
After viewing the video they determined the victim was the man found on the street and that the people arrested were involved, Chicago Police Department Superintendent Eddie Johnson said.
The suspects, all 18, are in custody awaiting formal charges, he said in a news conference Wednesday.
“It’s sickening,” he said. “It makes you wonder what would make individuals treat someone like that.”
The victim knew at least one of his accused attackers from school, 11th District Capt. Steven Sesso said. He voluntarily got into a van with the group and was brought into the city.
Because the victim was white and the people in the video are black, police are investigating whether hate crime charges are appropriate, Sesso said in response to reporters’ questions about the possibility of a bias attack.
It’s possible the racially charged statements were little more than “stupid rantings” from young adults about “something they think might make a headline,” Johnson added. He said he did not believe the attack was politically motivated.
“If you commit an act of violence in the city of Chicago you will feel the full weight of the Chicago Police Department,” he said. “Tonight four individuals have felt the consequences of their actions.”
The original video is no longer on the suspect’s Facebook profile. It is unclear if Facebook took it down.
According to its community standards, the company removes content, disables accounts and works with law enforcement in cases of a genuine risk of physical harm or direct threats to public safety. Otherwise, Facebook users can can report potentially offensive material to real people dedicated to responding to such reports. If a live stream starts blowing up, staffers monitor it for possible violations and interrupt it if need be.
Source:-Â http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/state-and-regional/chicago-police-investigate-possible-hate-crime-after-arrested-in-facebook/article_d926def5-281a-57c8-9c30-528f00c74d7e.html
