The Abridged version:
- Two separate incidents of violence, including one being investigated as a hate crime, have shaken Sacramento’s Lavender Heights in recent weeks.
- A coalition of 14 organizations called on the city of Sacramento to ramp up safety efforts in Sacramento’s historic LGBTQ community hub.
- The renewed calls for safety arrive less than a year after a Sacramento man was attacked in, and later died from, a hate crime incident.
Calls for more robust public safety rang across Lavender Heights nearly a year ago, after a deadly hate crime attack shook Sacramento’s historic LGBTQ+ neighborhood.
After two more violent incidents in the neighborhood in recent weeks, local LGBTQ+ advocates are calling on the city of Sacramento to take urgent action. Lavender Heights, a hub of local nightlife and historic home to the city’s LGBTQ+-owned businesses, has seen two consecutive weekends of violence.
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In the early hours of Aug. 30, a local LGBTQ+ advocate and Sacramento city hall staffer was attacked near 20th and L streets. The man, Joseph Sais, was chased and beaten by attackers who were reportedly shouting anti-LGBTQ+ slurs and racist slurs.
The attack is being investigated by the Sacramento Police Department as an alleged hate crime, but no arrests have been made in connection with the incident, according to the department.
With extra safety precautions in place, the neighborhood was home to the Sacramento Rainbow Festival this past Sunday.
Two women were attacked hours after the event, as officers responded to a call at 2:45 a.m. Monday at 20th and K streets outside of the Badlands nightclub, according to the Sacramento Police Department. The women had “minor injuries” according to police.
The Sacramento Police Department stated that a “bias motivation hasn’t been confirmed,” for this incident. The department has not yet released information about a possible suspect.
Community groups call on city to take action
A few days before the most recent violence, a coalition of 14 community organizations called on local police to “aggressively investigate” the attack on Sais. The coalition was led by the Stonewall Democrats of Greater Sacramento and includes the Democratic Party of Sacramento County, the Latino Democratic Club and Women Democrats of Sacramento County, among other groups.
“We mourned Alvin. We raised the alarm. We told city leaders that people were being harassed and attacked in Lavender Heights,” said Neil Pople, president of the Sacramento Stonewall Democrats. “Now our friend and PAC Chair has been left bloodied in those same streets.”
Pople referred to the alleged hate crime last year where a 57-year-old gay man from Sacramento, Alvin Prasad, was attacked in Lavender Heights on Halloween weekend. Prasad was placed in a coma after the attack and later died.
“I want the Sacramento Police Department, Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum and the City of Sacramento to hear us clearly: we are done waiting. We expect action before somebody else is hurt … or worse,” Pople said in a statement.
The coalition also called on the city and Pluckebaum, who represents Midtown, to “come to the table with more than empty promises.”
Another petition circulating online called on the police department to take “urgent action” by deploying more patrols in Lavender Heights during peak hours. The petition, written by local business owner Neil Galimba, urged that these patrols be equipped to handle LGBTQ+ hate crimes.
“Many of our residents fear that their voices are lost, not only due to a lack of presence but also due to a perceived lack of understanding and support from law enforcement,” Galimba wrote.
Representatives from the Sacramento Police Department declined to detail whether the department has increased its public safety efforts or increased patrols in Lavender Heights over the last year.
In a statement, the department said it remains committed to looking at crime trends across the entire city of Sacramento and “adjusting resources accordingly.”
