Buffalo steps up to prevent hate crimes

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Buffalo's gay and lesbian community is getting some direct answers about the city's efforts to fight hate crimes.

And this comes just as an arrest was made in the New Year's stabbing of Lindsay Harmon.

She was slashed in the eye outside Roxy's bar in Buffalo.

A town hall meeting on hate crime had been scheduled for weeks, but it came on the day news broke of an arrest in the New Year's Eve stabbing of Lindsay Harmon.

21 year old Suzanne Grover of Tonawanda is charged with 2nd degree assault, and a grand jury will decide whether it does in fact qualify as a more serious hate crime.

"And we also believe we have proof that shows the offense was motivated by bias," explained Erie County District Attorney, Frank Sedita.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said, "There are a lot of crimes that don't get solved, against a lot of different people. It was solved."

But many think the Buffalo Police Department could find more crimes like this.

Buffalo resident, Paul Morgan exclaimed, "If you don't have police that are sensitive and trained to recognize what this is or ask the appropriate questions, and or collect the appropriate evidence, you're talking about a fairy land scenario. It will never happen."

"I get called a dyke almost everyday of my life. Why? Because those people aren't educated. They don't know. That is the real issue," Ryan Smith commented.

While the Mayor did not commit to new sensitivity training for each officer, he does promise regular meetings with Buffalo's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

Mayor Brown said, "But initially, as we're getting started, certainly we will meet every six weeks to work on some protocols and systems to work more closely with the community."