just in case anyone thinks this is just about it being designated as a hate crime. No they did not charge anything despite this guy having massive injuries and the other guy having nothing to show for it. If you luigi, do it in arizona with no cameras:
But the county attorney’s office ultimately viewed the case as a “he said, he said” scenario, with Lawton claiming he acted in self-defense. According to the police report, Lawton told investigators that while slowing down the vehicle, he was “punched in the back of the head and on the side of his body so many times that he saw stars.”
No witnesses corroborated Lawton’s account, and it’s unclear how much the county attorney’s office leaned on his story. But without video footage of the attack—Uber allows drivers to install them but does not require it—the evidence collected would appear to focus heavily only on eye witnesses.
“I don’t understand how it could be deemed self-defense or why it was turned down,” Almaraz said. “I was unarmed, he had multiple weapons in the car—it just didn’t make any sense. It was heartbreaking. I was completely assaulted and violated. I could have lost my life.”
just in case anyone thinks this is just about it being designated as a hate crime. No they did not charge anything despite this guy having massive injuries and the other guy having nothing to show for it. If you luigi, do it in arizona with no cameras:
But the county attorney’s office ultimately viewed the case as a “he said, he said” scenario, with Lawton claiming he acted in self-defense. According to the police report, Lawton told investigators that while slowing down the vehicle, he was “punched in the back of the head and on the side of his body so many times that he saw stars.”
No witnesses corroborated Lawton’s account, and it’s unclear how much the county attorney’s office leaned on his story. But without video footage of the attack—Uber allows drivers to install them but does not require it—the evidence collected would appear to focus heavily only on eye witnesses.
“I don’t understand how it could be deemed self-defense or why it was turned down,” Almaraz said. “I was unarmed, he had multiple weapons in the car—it just didn’t make any sense. It was heartbreaking. I was completely assaulted and violated. I could have lost my life.”
Ah, the gay panic defense.
Now not just for cops!