Portland Police Investigating Lewis and Clark Assault As A Hate Crime

Monday, November 23, 2015

GoLocalPDX News Team

Portland Police are investigating an assault that occurred at Lewis and Clark college as a potential hate crime, according to the Police Bureau.

Just after 12 AM on Saturday, Central Precinct officers responded to the report of an assault of a 26-year-old African-American student at the college. The suspects in the assault are described as three white males, roughly 5’ 8” and with a medium build.

The victim told police the suspects used racial epithets before assaulting him at roughly 9 PM on Friday. The victim fought back and was eventually able to flee to his on-campus residence. He did not require medical attention.

Police said that posts on the social media site Yik Yak, which allows users to post anonymous messages, may be related to the attack. The investigation is ongoing.

Hales Calls for Compassion, Community

Hales issued a statement in the wake of the assault. In it, he called on residents to "stand together against the use of ugly disturbing language that inexcusably threatens or otherwise creates fear in any other person.”

READ HALES’ FULL STATEMENT BELOW:

Over the past week, there have been several potentially threatening comments made on social media at Lewis & Clark College that have been directed at African-Americans. Last night on the campus, there was an assault on an African-American student. At this time there has not been a link between these events, and the Portland Police Bureau is actively investigating.

While we are a city that prides itself on the broad protection of free speech, no matter how abhorrent the content may be, I am calling on all of us to stand together against the use of ugly, disturbing language that inexcusably threatens or otherwise creates fear in any other person. Further, I ask each of us to be vigilant in reporting this kind of hate to the appropriate authorities, whether that's campus police, administrators, or Portland Police.

We are in a particularly sensitive time here in Portland and around the world. It is imperative that we do as we’ve done time and time again, and show the world that in Portland, we take care of each other; that we choose to live in Portland because of community, not in spite of it.

It’s a time of reflection as we approach the holidays and the end of the year, and I ask each of us to not just think about the tragedies happening around us, but also to dig into our vast reserves of compassion and treat each other with the respect and dignity we all deserve.

Related Slideshow: 10 Oregon Colleges With The Most Reported Crime

Public and private universities are required to report criminal offenses every year, under the federal Jeanne Clery Act. GoLocalPDX analyzed the reports, made public through the Department of Education, for data from 2009 through 2013.

The ranking is based on the average reported crime over five years, per 1,000 students.